


The Truth Is That I Miss You

by Gozkin



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Boys Kissing, Confessions, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heartbreak, Hospitals, Idiots in Love, Internal Conflict, Kissing, LGBTQ Themes, Late Night Conversations, Leukemia, M/M, Oblivious, Pining, Romance, Sad Ending, You Can Guess The Ending, slow burn but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:28:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28502226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gozkin/pseuds/Gozkin
Summary: George is diagnosed with terminal cancer.He decides to keep it from his friends, but what happens when he can no longer hide the fact that his battle is growing too hard to fight?Time is precious, and George learns to treasure what he has left.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 107
Kudos: 294





	1. Saturn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With shortness of breath  
> I'll try to explain the infinite  
> And how rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist

_"I'm so, so sorry sir. We expect 7 months at most."_

George's ears rang as he stood in the office, his eyes digging into the oh so interesting carpet.

He had just been told he was diagnosed with stage 4, terminal leukemia- he wasn't sure what kind, he wasn't able to listen that long before he felt his heartbeat throb in his head.

The doctor smiled sadly as small wet spots puddled onto the table, and he stood to talk about options he had.

George simply shook his head and told him he wanted to do nothing. He was too late, and now his life was coming to an end.

It was hard to be optimistic about this, too hard. He decided he would keep this from his friends- they didn't need to know, and they probably wouldn't care. Was he making decisions too fast? 

Was the sickness taking his head too? He chuckled hollowly at the thought, sounding more like a broken sob.

Of course his friends would care, maybe that's why he would keep it to himself. He'd live his last few months like normal, and then die quietly.

Would his friends question what they did wrong when he would no longer answer them? Perhaps, but that wasn't exactly worrying him at the moment.

He arrived back home, immediately beginning to cry when the door shut. His lip quivered as he slid down the closed door, his head falling into his shaking hands.

_7 months? That wasn't enough. That was nowhere near enough._

He thought about Dream- he had been crushing on his friend the past 5 months, maybe it was a little more than a crush, more like a painfully achy love that boiled in his chest. Not that it would matter now. 

George slapped his hand over his mouth, muffling the heartbreaking sobs that filled his apartment.

3 hours had passed since he'd gotten home, and he was still sitting at the door with his head against his knees that he hugged onto tightly with his tired arms.

He was no longer crying, just staring at the floor with thoughts flooding his mind. He heard his phone chime with texts and missed calls the past 30 minutes, but he didn't really put mind to looking and replying.

Until he realized he promised to stream and play an amount of games that they had been planning since the past week amongst the SMP members-

"Shit! Shit shit what the fuck!" George scrambled up, wincing at the aching in his legs.

He raced to his computer and hit the power button, quickly going to his messages.

There was some from Dream, Sapnap, and even one from Tommy.  
  


_Dreamie_

_Hey we're starting soon_

_George_

_Georgeee get on dude_

_George?_

_Sap nappity_

_George wake up_

_We've been planning this the whole week dont dip now_

He didn't bother reading Tommy's text, just quickly getting on the smp and joining the VC.

"Broooo" Sap nap called out, noticing that George had joined.

The others cheered and welcomed him, but he didn't say anything. His throat hurt from the crying.

His phone dinged with a message from Dream.

_Dreamie_

_What happened?_

_Fell asleep sorry_

He shut his phone off and cleared his throat, quickly downing the water bottle that had been left sitting on his desk from the previous day.

"Hey guys, sorry I fell asleep,"

George started with a light, nervous chuckle. He didn't sound much better.

He started up his stream, not noticing how bad he looked until Sapnap brought up his puffy eyes and ruffled hair.

"Woah dude- you okay?? You look like shit." His friend spoke into the mic, the call going silent. He looked to the chat and cursed beneath his breath, quickly shutting his cam off.

"Yeah I've got a cold, that's why I was sleeping." He made up his excuse, voice still raspy and crackly.

The others wished him to get well and they continued on, but his two best friends didn't end up believing the excuse. They'd ask him later—

-

George ended his stream, not having said too much, but enough to not ruin his stream.

The others said their goodbyes and now it was only Sapnap, Dream, and him. They usually stayed in calls after they did stuff to just chill and talk,

"So George- how you feeling?" Sapnap sounded through the call, his icon lighting up with a green circle as he spoke.

George shrugged, though he knew they couldn't see him.

"Fine, I guess. Head kinda hur-" He had begin yawning mid sentence, making Dream chuckle quietly.

"You tired?"

"Yeah I wanna sleep, I know I won't be able to though. Cold is gonna keep me up"

This wasn't particularly a lie- he was so tired. So, so tired, but the thoughts and ache in his head would surely keep him wide awake all the rest of the night.

"Sorry dude that sucks ass. You sure it's a cold? You don't got the rona right?" Dream said with a chuckle, though they could all tell he was worried.

"No, no I'm okay. Already got tested, just a cold," George reassured, hoping he wasn't too bad at lying. This would definitely be hard to have to lie to his friends- keep this from them.

"That's good- just tell us when you wanna head to bed alright? In the meantime we can keep playing if you want, Dream modified the mutant thing so we can make a video if you're up to it. You don't have to talk much,"

Sapnap said this all rather quickly, taking in a huge breath at the end and causing them all to share a giggle.

They agreed and started up a new world, picking who would be mutant and who would be trying to speed run.

Dream would be the mutant, and the other two would be running(which wasn't really a surprise).

George and Sapnap immediately started running when the intro was over, screeching and having no time to grab wood.

They ran for another 2 minutes with nothing, then decided to split up so one could get wood while the other was chased.

George ended up being the one chased, and nervous sparks flew through his stomach as Dream got closer and closer, hitting him down to only 1 heart.

"DREAM STOP! GIVE ME TIME TO GET WOOD!" He squealed as he sat at the edge of his chair, gripping his mouse dangerously hard.

"I NEVER give you time Georgie!" Dream laughed evilly and continued chasing after George, but he was cut off by Sapnap who had slapped him with a wooden sword.

Dream yelled and quickly turned around, running the other way to regain his hearts.

They played a while longer, the call filled with inhumane screams and smashing of keyboards before Dream managed to kill the both of them with victorious shouts and fist pumping.

George and Sapnap grumbled as Dream continued yelling and bragging to them.

"Whatever loser. I think I'm gonna head to sleep, don't have too much fun without me" Sapnap said this, quietly muttering something else to George at the end with a snicker

" _Feel free to go into a private vc with your boyfriend, though"_

George huffed and shook his head, shouting something about Sapnap getting out and that he was an idiot. Though George felt himself smile at the thought of being alone with Dream.

The call was quiet after Sapnap left. It always was when it was just them two, and they enjoyed it. George loved how Dream would speak softer to him, flirt with him privately even more than on stream. It was always subtle, but it never failed to shoot prickles of heat to the very core of his stomach.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as they talked to eachother. Dream wouldn't be flirting with him if he knew the other had feelings for him. Would he be disgusted? George knew Dream would be absolutely mortified knowing that he had been making his friend squirm uncomfortably in his seat every time he made an even slightly sexual remark.

He hadn't heard Dream talking to him until the third time his name was called, quickly snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," George whispered, hearing the other chuckle lightly.

"It's okay Georgie, I was asking if you were tired yet? Did you just fall asleep? Sorry if I woke y-"

"No, no it's okay I just.. zoned out for a sec." George whispered, smiling softly at the worry in his friends voice.

They sat in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's presence.

After a few more moments, George spoke.

"Are you? Tired, I mean."

"No, no I think I'm gonna stay up a while. I like talking with you,"

George was brought back to a guilt that sat in his stomach. What would he do? Not that it mattered, he'd be gone soon. Way too soon.

He still couldn't help but sigh in frustration, causing Dream to hum in confusion.

"You okay..?" He whispered,

"Yeah I'm sorry I just keep thinking, I- I-" George paused, tears welling up in his eyes. He shut his mouth quickly and dragged his hand across his face.

_Don't cry. Don't be a bitch baby, you're fine. Don't cry. Please._

"George? You okay?" Dream said quietly into the mic, but George couldn't speak. His voice caught in his throat, making him choke a bit. He couldn't stop the tears silently sliding down his cheeks, why was he being such a baby about this? Maybe at the thought of losing Dream? 

The fatigue he had already been feeling for months, wondering what it was? Being too late and just now figuring out he had only a few months left?

"Hey, hey," Dream said gently, realizing his friend had started crying.

"You're okay Georgie, can you take some deep breaths for me? What's wrong?"

George still remained quiet, only the sound of muffled cries from his sleeves paired with sniffles.

Dream let his friend cry, just continuing to whisper quiet "you're okay"s.

After 5 minutes, George had calmed himself enough to speak.

"I'm sorry, this is so.. this is- _god this is embarrassing._ " he whispered between sniffles, laughing quietly at his embarrassment. Although Dream could tell it was a fake, sad laugh.

"No, no you're okay gogy. Can you tell me what happened?"

George stayed silent at this, thinking for a second. He almost considered telling Dream everything, he made it so easy to just spill. But he couldn't.

"I- don't know." He whispered, knowing it definitely wasn't convincing.

"You're a bad liar, George. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but please just tell me if I can do anything, okay?"

This made George calm down a bit, maybe he just needed to hear Dream's voice. Everything was better when Dream talked to him in that soft, honey laced voice. God his voice was nice.

"Thank you," he whispered back, climbing into his bed and under the covers with his phone that held the discord call.

They sat in a silence again, until something popped into George's head.

"Dream?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you- send me a picture?" He didn't care what it was, just wanted something to busy his mind.

"A little bold tonight, are we?" Dream whispered back, and George gasped quietly with a "no! No! That's not- no!"

Dream snickered and George's phone made a ding soon after.

_from Dreamie_

The Snapchat notification read, and George quickly opened it. It was a picture of Dream, but not fully. It was his messy blond hair with a hand running through it, the rest of the camera just pointed to the headboard of his bed.

Dream could hear as George's breath hitched, and the sound from taking a screenshot filled the silence.

Dream only laughed quietly, opening the Snapchat that George had returned.

It was his slim, pale fingers formed into a half heart above his head, a soft smile playing at his lips. It was obvious, the red puffy eyes that glistened slightly with tears, that George had been probably crying more than what he just did.

"George.." Dream said with a frown showing through his voice. He pondered trying to bring it up again, but decided against it as George obviously hadn't wanted to talk about it.

Dream sent another picture, his hand doing the same, except above his head where he wasn't visible.

"Why are you screenshotting? Making a collection now, hm?" Dream teased as the notification popped up on his screen.

"Yeah," George whispered in response.

"Your hands are so.. big."

Dream huffed out a quiet laugh,

"Yours are so small, they're cute."

George shook his head and rubbed at his eyes, trying to keep himself awake. His hands were surely much, much smaller than Dream's. He had suddenly become self conscious, deciding he wouldn't send anymore pictures of his hands. They weren't cute, they were bony and feminine.

"I'm gonna pass out," George whispered, closing his eyes as his hand started falling with the phone in his hand.

"Goodnight George, get some rest." Was the last thing he heard as he looked at the clock beside him that read 4:48 am before falling into a slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii!! This is gonna be fun to write. I don't have an update schedule, this is really only just to keep myself busy. If the CC's express that they are uncomfortable with being shipped, the story will be immediately deleted.
> 
> Each chapter will be named after a song by Sleeping at Last, along with a quote from the song.


	2. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So show me what to do  
> To restart this heart of mine  
> How do I forgive myself  
> For losing so much time?

When George wakes up in the morning, he groans and looks to his alarm clock that tells him it’s a quarter after 12.

All he wants to do is go back to sleep for the rest of the day, but that probably wasn't the best idea.

He sits up and stretches his arms, bones cracking quietly with satisfying pops. He checks his phone to see he had a few Twitter notifications, along with a text from Dream.

_Dreamie_

_How you feeling?_

George squints at the message, just shutting his phone off. He didn't want to talk with Dream. He felt like absolute shit.

Maybe that was selfish of him, to keep himself from his best friend who had only been worried for him. After all, he had broken down for no apparent reason last night.

Oh god.

_Oh god._

Heat rushes to his cheeks as he burries his face back into the soft pillow, embarrassment pooling in his stomach.

That was the first time Dream heard him cry, and it definitely wasn't a pleasant experience. At least the camera wasn't on.

He had began drifting back to sleep, but was woken again with a ringing from his phone. Dream was calling him.

With a quiet groan, he declined the call and turned his phone on silent, leaving it on his bed as he stood to make breakfast. But he wasn't hungry. He hadn't been eating a lot recently, maybe only one meal with a few snacks.

He was determined to keep himself from checking his phone though, so he slid into his small kitchen and popped 2 frozen waffles into the toaster.

He once again started drifting off with his head laying on the counter, but startled back awake to the sound of the toaster popping the waffles out.

He ate and showered himself, feeling accomplished at the fact he had managed to do all this while feeling like crap.

He did kind of feel bad, though. He left Dream on read, his friend was only worried for him. So he picked his phone up with a defeated sigh to see 2 missed calls and a ' _please answer George, I'm worried_ ' text.

Maybe he’s just weak, he _wants_ to answer the phone and talk to Dream.

He quickly shot back an excuse that he had fallen back asleep before he could reply, and that seemed to do it.

Or maybe not, because seconds later he had another incoming call from Dream.

He reluctantly slid the answer button, pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello..?" He questioned, voice still raspy and sleep filled.

"Hi Gogy, you doing okay? Sorry for waking you,"

"Yeah I'm fine- Just really tired" George plopped back down on his bed, not really listening to Dream as he thought about telling his mother his news.

She would want to know, right? Her son would be dying soon. Maybe it was best to keep her from it? She would demand he get meds or some kind of treatment that would never end up working.

To keep this information would be cruel, but torturing her with the mere thought her only child would soon be gone may be even worse.

"You still there?"

George hummed in response, though he hadn't heard anything Dream was telling him.

Dream figured his friend wasn't really paying attention, chuckling quietly and wishing a goodbye.

George sighed in relief as the call disconnected, curling up into his bed. Sure, it wasn't smart, and he almost made it past, but he decided to stay in bed possibly the whole day.

-

It was now 7 pm, George had been awake a while just sitting in bed and scrolling through Twitter. He sighed to himself and swung his legs over the bedside, his feet hitting the cold floor as he stood.

He made his way to his computer and slowly sat in the chair, clicking the power button. He didn't have anything else to do so he figured he'd just play on the SMP and see if anyone else was on.

There were a few people playing, so he clicked to discord and joined a VC that held Tommy, Sapnap, Bad, and Dream.

He stayed quiet, just listening and running around the SMP to look for something to do.

Upon realizing George had been in the call, tommy shouted a "Oh hey GeorgeNotFound!" Which made everyone else greet him as well.

"Dream," George began after a bit of playing, snickering to himself at what he was about to say.

"Marry me Dreamie, I'll move to America with a good reason and we can all live together." Tommy laughed at this and Sapnap said something about them secretly being in love.

Dream scoffed playfully and hit George's character, quickly running away as he was chased.

"Yeah you wish," Dream said in between laughter.

Sapnap piped up and got the call to quiet down as he made a proposal-

"We should actually meet up. Ill buy your ticket George we can all go to Florida!"

"Wait yeah we really should, soon! George are you down? I'll pay for yours snapmap" Sapnap scowled at the annoying name.

"Call me that again and we're gonna have issues shit head." Sapnap threatened, but you could hear the smile beaming from his voice.

Maybe this was a good idea, be able to see his friends. Bad bad also agreed, insisting he paid for his own ticket. Tommy said he wasn't allowed, something about his parents refusing to let him go out of the UK.

"I'm down." He smiled, immediately pausing his game and going to google to look at plane tickets.

"When are you guys thinking?" Sapnap asked, and they had agreed to meet in 2 months so they had enough time to prepare and get tested for covid.

-

"Hey, hey guys look at my screen" George said as he screenshared with his three friends(Tommy had left soon after), then hovered his mouse over a ticket that was for 2 months ahead.

"Don't you dare, I'm buying your ticket idiot" Sapnap said lowly, but George quickly clicked and bought the ticket. Then he bought another one for Sapnap. Then ANOTHER one for Bad. He figured since these would be his last few months, better start spending money and making them worth while.

"Dude!" The other three shouted in unison, George laughing hysterically. They grumbled and Sapnap said something about Venmoing him the money for the tickets. George gasped and pleaded him not to, but it didn't help much because a notification came that he had been given enough money for the tickets.

"You're so stupid! When I come I'm spending this money on you guys." George said as he scoffed dramatically.

-

It was now 2 in the morning and the only ones left were Sapnap, George, and Dream in the call, but getting ready to hang up.

"Hey Sap can you stay on discord? I need to text you," George said into the call, not realizing how it probably sounded to Dream. Dream just stayed silent as Sapnap agreed, and they hung up. Not like it was a big deal.

_Sap Nappity_

_What's up_

_I really appreciate that you sent money back for the tickets but like_

_I have a bunch of extra money and I seriously wanna put it towards this I literally have nothing else to do with it_

_Brooo why_

_I alr sent it_

_Ikik but can I just send it back_

_Pls_

_Ok whatever but I'm spending it on you guys when I come_

_Is that all you wanted_

_Nah_

_I want your moms #_

_Shut up you're an idiot_

_Goodnight George_

_Night_

George laughed lightly at the small conversation, quickly sending back the money that Sapnap had sent through.

The tickets were all a bit apart in time, but only by a few hours. Dream would get Sapnap and Bad, then George would be arriving a bit later due to the time difference and whatever.

George was nervous. It was late, and all he could do was lay in his bed and think. And think. And think. 

He'd finally be able to see Dream- and the rest of his friends, of course. But Dream was different. George figured out his crush for his friend a while back, but Dream was straight. He hadn't seen what Dream looked like, either. Would their encounter be awkward? It probably would be, George was much shyer in person than he was online.

Maybe he was being selfish. Going to see Dream. He would never want George to come see him if he knew he liked him. None of his friends knew he was bi, either. The thought of rejection made his body tingle, not the tingles that were warm and sweet, but the tingles that felt like painful stings prodding at his skin.

This was just more of a reason to keep his sexuality to himself.

Soon enough, he found himself drifting off to the thought of meeting his friends and the endless activities they could be doing for the 2 weeks they would be together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is shorter, I was in a hurry to make these hobos meet.
> 
> I already have the first 6 chapters ready so looking back I GRRR wish I made it longer but it’s fine :’)


	3. Neptune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm only honest when it rains  
> An open book, with a torn out page  
> And my inks run out  
> I wanna love you but I don't know how

1 month had passed since the tickets were bought.

They had 1 more left to prepare, and George was starting to look like shit. he had gotten more pale, he was tired more often too. None of his friends had noticed yet, but he sure had.

George was on the SMP, streaming while on call with Dream.

They were just messing around, doing various challenges that didn't have any prizes or anything. Just for fun.

"Geoorrgeee~" Dream said lowly into the mic, making prickles of heat sting at George's cheeks.

"Don't say my name like that," George grumbled with his face now hiding in his hands. He didn't dare look to the chat, who he knew would be pointing out the very obvious blush on his ears and face.

"Why not? You can basically hear the blush in your voice, Georgie." Dream snickered and hit George's in game character lightly with a steak.

George just rolls his eyes and bites his lip to stop himself from saying anything else. God he hated Dream right now. He just said his name, that shouldn't affect him this much.

"What do you want?"

"When you come to Florida... let's change your respawn point in my bed?" Dream said this as he stared at George's facecam on stream, awaiting a reaction.

The line first confused George, but when he got it, he gasped and hit Dream's character until he died.

"What is wrong with you! You're such an idiot!" George whined while Dream just laughed, he pondered turning his facecam off while he internally screamed.

They hadn't revealed to their fans that they would be meeting up, so this caused the chat to go even wilder than before.

" _Wait you guys r meeting up???"_

The donation read out loud, in which George reluctantly nodded.

"Yeah, bad, Sapnap, and I are all meeting up at Dream's house. We're gonna get tested and everything, obviously." George laughed anxiously, his nerves beginning to act up again.

"George!" Dream called again, making George flinch slightly in surprise.

He hummed in response to which Dream laughed, it was more breathy and soft than when he wheezed. George was confused, he hadn't even said anything.

"Do you-" Dream paused again to start wheezing, soon making George giggle because his laugh was just that contagious.

"Do you have a diamond pickaxe?" He finally asked. George huffed with a quiet "yeah, why?"

"Because I'm harder than obsidian," Dream said this and then immediately left the game as George made a face of disgust.

"Wh- EW! DREAM! What the hell!" George started gagging, fake puking into his hands. Dream just continued laughing, soon joining the game back. These.. pick up lines? We're absolutely horrible. 

"Come onnn George, you're making me do all the work here, why don't you flirt back? You know you love me~"

George simply sighed in annoyance.

"I'm not flirting with you, you're absolutely ridiculous." He scrunched his nose up, quickly reading over some messages in chat.

Dream whined, a pout obvious in his voice.

"Just once! Give me your best pick up line. Just one. And I'll leave you alone!"

George contemplated for a second, but just ended up shaking his head.

"I don't know how to flirt Dream-" George knitted his brows together. He really didn't know how to flirt, nothing came to him easily like it did to Dream.

"Just like... call me cute or something?" Dream was muffling snickers with his hand and George frowned. Was Dream laughing at him? Probably.

"You're... you're- Dream I can't!" George shifted uncomfortably, smiling nervously with his chin resting on one of his hands.

They had since forfeited playing Minecraft, just sitting in the game idly while chatting on call.

After a while of talking about random things(not without Dream making remarks that had George's cheeks firing up), George decided to end his stream.

"I'm just.. gonna call it for tonight guys, thanks for joining!" George smiled and ended his stream, an excruciatingly loud silence now sitting in the call.

"I'm really excited to see you,"

Came quietly from the other end of the call, from Dream after a few moments.

George stayed quiet for a second, the corners of his mouth slowly turning up.

"Me too" he whispered, just now getting settled back into his bed after turning his computer off. He probably should have been working on a new plug-in, but all he wanted to do the rest of the night was lay and talk to Dream.

"I'll be honest, I didn't really think everything through- I only have 1 spare bedroom." Dream said with a nervous chuckle, resulting in a " _What_!?" From George.

"Yeahh, I wasn't expecting you guys to actually come. I'll figure something out though, don't worry,"

George scoffed in disbelief, dragging a hand down his face. This whole trip was so unbelievably unplanned, he cursed at himself for even buying the tickets.

-

George stood in the bathroom, staring at his reflection.

Another 3 weeks had passed by in a blur, and it was now 1 pm. George was trying to get ready to leave for the airport.

A violent rumble emitted from his chest as a violent cough attack bubbled up, burning his lungs as he began gasping for any air he could get.

Things had rapidly gotten worse, and George could barely bring himself to get out of bed. He had regretted not taking any meds or anything, all he did was sleep, play Minecraft, sleep more, eat occasionally, sleep, sleep, sleep. That would have to change if he was seeing his friends, though. He had been having these weird coughing attacks every morning if he was awake, which is why he just liked to sleep in. Sometimes it would wake him up, sometimes he just felt nauseous.

He wasn't sure how he'd convince his friends he didn't have the coronavirus with all this coughing, he was even considering just canceling his flight. Lots of concealer was his best bet for the eye bags, but otherwise his appearance had yet to change that much.

Small specks of blood littered George's palms from the hard coughing into his hand. He sighed and quickly washed his hands before putting a small amount of pale concealer underneath his eyes.

He was now shooting Dream a text(assuming he'd be awake, even though it was probably a little early for him still considering it was the weekend) to tell him he'd left for the airport, and then hopped into his car with the small suitcase of clothes and necessities he had.

It probably wasn't a good idea to be driving. At all. George was color blind, that's no secret. He had a license, but not being able to see the colors was quite dangerous and made him anxious to be driving at all.

All went fine, as the drive to the airport wasn't that long. Somewhere in a deep, ugly crevice of his mind, he had hoped that maybe he’d crash and just get this over with.

He had finally received a text back from Dream, along with an incoming call almost right after.

"Hi!" George smiled through the phone as Dream greeted him happily,

"Hi Dream, I'm just about to go through security"

"I'm gonna be picking up the other two in a bit, then we'll come- or I can just come?"

"Whatever you want. How will I know when I see you? I don't know what you look like."

"I'll wear your merch! You have enough of a description of me for the rest."

"Okay, well I gotta go now they're making me put my phone in for security. I'll text you when I land!"

They said quick goodbyes and good lucks, then hung up.

George was now boarding his plane after going through security and checking out. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't a bit nervous to be going on the plane, but not like he would say anything about it. If anything, he was nervous to be meeting Dream alone. He had expected the others to come with, which maybe they would end up being there as well.

It sounded like Dream was just going by himself though.

-

_Dreamie_

_I landed_

George shot the quick text, getting off the plane and immediately going to the baggage claim so he could grab his suit case.

_Incoming call from Dreamie_

"Hey I'm just getting my bag- where are you?" George asked with a slight shake in his voice, more from excitement than nervousness.

"Making my way to baggage claim, how was the flight? Everything you ever hoped for?" Dream joked, chuckling into the phone.

George rolled his eyes and grabbed his suitcase as it rolled by, then turned around to look for his friend.

"What are you wearing again? Just my merch?"

Dream didn't answer, instead locked eyes with the other from across the floor.

George felt his breath hitch as he stared at the unbelievably tall man- messy blond hair, tanned skin from the Florida sun, yellowish eyes that he knew where actually green. He was tall. So tall.

They stared at each other a while longer than needed before a "Hi Georgie" sounded from the other line.

George looked to his phone and hung up, running to his friend and dropping his suitcase before lunging into a hug with him. It wasn't a dramatic jump-in-their-arms hug like in movies, but it sure felt like it in the moment. It was quite underwhelming from an outside perspective.

Dream wrapped his arms around George's waist and the smaller boy had his arms flung around Dream's neck in a tight embrace.

The stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away with big grins. George took a few seconds to fully take in his friend. He felt he could count the freckles that dusted Dream's cheeks and nose, but that'd be creepy.

His eyes were probably the best part. They were a gorgeous golden yellow, for once he was almost glad he was color blind.

"You're so pretty," George blurted, still looking up and admiring Dream's eyes. He felt vulnerable- his friend had been tall and very clearly well-built, while George was a short, thin twig. Dream could crush him.

Dream wore a smug expression, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

"Thanks Georgie, you're pretty cute yourself."

"Wh-" George scoffed and turned away, picking his suitcase back up from next to them.

"Let's just.. go. How far is your house?"

-

They had just pulled into the driveway of Dream's house. Bad and Sapnap had supposedly already been there, and it was now 4 pm (which really messed with George because of the time change).

They walked in and George set his suitcase by the door, looking at the surprisingly neat home. There was photos littering the walls, mostly what was assumed to be family photos but also some of Patches. It smelt of lavender and oak, not too heavily but just enough to make it all the more better.

Speaking of patches- the small cat had come out and was head butting George's leg.

Sapnap came running in and looked at George, putting his arms out with grabby hands.

"Gogy! Come gimme love!" He said with a big smile, in which George playfully rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around his friend who was just a bit taller than him. Bad had somehow slid into the hug as well, so it was a nice group hug between the three.

"Jesus! You're so tall!" George looked up at bad, who wasn't as tall as Dream but sure was taller than he expected.

They all shared a smile together, disbelief washing over that they had all finally met up. It was crazy- George had never thought any of them would really meet up, he thought it would just be an online thing. But he was glad it wasn't.

"What should we do for dinner?" Dream said, breaking the silence.

"Pizza!" Sapnap responded immediately, in to which the others had nodded in agreement.

None of them could agree on toppings, so they ended up just getting a large cheese pizza because that was the only thing they didn't mind sharing.

Now sitting on the couch, they all ate slices with some random movie on in the background while chatting about their flights and what they had wanted to do while they stayed here.

The topic was eventually brought up on how there was only one spare bedroom, and Dream was met with glares and sighs from the other three.

"So, one of us gets the room and the others have to sleep on the couch? Or 2 people can sleep in each of the beds?"

"I'm fine with sharing with Sapnap! George you can sleep with Dream, how does that sound?" Bad had suggested with a seemingly innocent smile(although him and Sapnap had previously talked to eachother privately about how their very dense friends clearly had feelings for each other)

George blinked looked at Dream, who shrugged and nodded. _So this was happening._


	4. Countdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll be starry eyed for you  
> I brush the dust off, gain composure for another round.  
> When did my life become a series of countdowns?

The 4 friends had finished their pizza and were planning to watch a horror movie the rest of the night. George absolutely despised horror movies, but he didn't want to seem like a baby and ruin the night for the other 3 so he said nothing.

They had decided on watching Midsommar, which George was relieved with because it didn't really look like a horror movie.

Half-way through though, George found himself clinging onto Dream's arm with his head buried into his shoulder.

"Are you seriously scared?" Dream said as he chuckled quietly, which just resulted in a muffled noise and a surprisingly hard punch to the arm.

Sapnap and Bad had shared a smirk between each other in watching the exchange.

George had just become increasingly more afraid and confused at the crazy events and loud noises, and small whimpers were heard from Dream here and there when George held a death grip on his now numb arm.

George sighed in relief as soon as the movie was over, and he quickly stood up and declared he was going to sleep("I can't believe I actually watched that! I'm going to sleep, fuck you all!" "LANGUAGE!!")

It was getting pretty late anyways, so the group had collectively agreed to just go to sleep early so they could start their day refreshed and ready for activities.

Sapnap winked at George before he and bad left to their room, and George just scrunched his nose in confusion- what was that for?

Dream had already changed into shorts and taken his shirt off. He was sunken into the bed with one out of the kajillion blankets covering him, so when George came in after changing(he had just taken his shirt off and wore baggy sweatpants), his eyes widened slightly at the sheer amount of blankets on the bed. At least he wouldn't get cold.

George awkwardly slid into the bed and stared at the ceiling while pulling one of the blankets over him. It was dark, but he turned towards Dream anyways.

"Dream," he whispered as his friend turned towards him as well.

"If you touch me, I'm kicking you out of this bed." George said with a playful glare(even though it was probably too dark to see)

Dream chuckled and nodded,

"This is my bed you know, but, I won't."

George soon fell into a peaceful slumber while Dream stayed awake a while longer. There was a lot to think about. What they'd do the next 2 weeks, if he would cook or go out to eat, how cute George was. He wasn't sure how his mind got there, but he found himself gazing at the sleeping boy with questionable thoughts running through his head.

Suddenly, a quiet whine emitted from George as he grabbed onto Dream and pulled himself into his friend's chest, all while still sleeping.

 _Ironic_.

Dream felt his heart beat impossibly quicker as his body stiffened at the contact. Should he push him off? Pull him closer? just simply turn away? He took a breath and pulled his arms around the boy, letting his face nuzzle into his soft brown hair.

Hopefully this wouldn't be awkward in the morning.

-

George woke up on top of a big, warm pillow. He made a small noise muffled by the pillow and reached his hand up slightly. His fingers tangled into soft.. hair?

His eyes shot open and he sat up, staring down at Dream(who had barely just woken up as well).

They stared at each other with wide eyes, noticing their position. George was now straddling Dream with the sheets sitting low on his waist and barely covering their lower halves.

George knew he should move, but he felt frozen in place. Maybe he just didn't want to move, maybe he was frozen in fear his friend would completely hate him.

"Good morning cowboy," Dream whispered with a tired smile as he placed his hands on George's waist.

George quickly scrambled away with the sheets pulled tight to his chest, his head down in embarrassment. As this was happening, he also felt the nausea spring up as it usually did when he first woke up.

He stumbled up, throwing the sheets onto the bed before running to the bathroom and sitting on the floor by the toilet, getting ready to puke. Except it didn't come, instead he was just thrown into a small coughing fit(which he was extremely grateful of).

Seeing as it was only 7 in the morning, Sapnap and bad had yet to wake up. Dream heard what had been happening and quickly followed George to see if he was okay.

He sat down next to George(who had glossy eyes from the painful coughing) and drew circles into his back as he choked on small bits of blood.

"Holy shit- George?? Are you okay?" Dream's eyes were widened at the sight of the blood splattering against his fingers and the toilet seat.

George just hung his head and rested his cheek against the (now closed) toilet seat, inhaling quickly to try and regain his breath. This sure as hell wasn't a great start to the morning.

"What the fuck happened?" Dream whispered as he brought the shaking George into his arms .

George knew, of course he knew what was happening. It was the life slowly being ripped from his body. But he wouldn't tell anyone that.

"I- I-" George failed to come up with an excuse, instead just exhaling shakily and resting his head on Dream's shoulder.

Dream didn't want to push anything to try and figure out what was wrong, so they just sat on the bathroom floor for a while until Dream felt the smaller boy's heart beat slow and heard his breaths quiet as he fell asleep.

When George woke back up, he was in bed covered with a soft blanket. But as his eyes readjusted to the light shining through the curtains, he noticed the cold absence of his friend.

Voices came from out of the room, so he assumed his friends had woken up and were getting breakfast ready or something.

And he was right, when he stepped into the kitchen with sheets still wrapped around him, 2 of his other friends were sitting on stools at the island as Dream cooked breakfast.

"Oh, George is up," Sapnap said quietly and nudged at bad. They all turned towards the still very groggy George, who offered a small smile.

Bad patted at the stool next to him for George to sit in, and then him and Sapnap bombarded him with questions.  
  


"Dream told us what happened, are you okay?"

"Why were you coughing blood?"

"Do you have covid!?"

"Oh god he has covid! Get away!"

The two had scooted away from him at that moment, looking at George with slight fright.

"Guys- i don't have the coronavirus, I promise." George scratched the back of his neck, looking at Dream with eyes that said _help_??

"Listen I don't wanna ruin the plans for today or anything, I've just been nauseous in the mornings or whatever the past few weeks. I tested negative I-"

"George, hey, it's okay just as long as you're feeling okay, alright?" Bad now had his hand resting on George's shoulder, smiling softly to his frowning friend.

He nodded and agreed to let them check his temperature later and to let them know know if he had started feeling worse.

Dream placed three plates in front of his friends that had blueberry pancakes and a few pieces of bacon.

He gave a cup of coffee to Sapnap(which had the perfect amount of milk and cream in to be what Sapnap had liked), orange juice to bad, and apple juice to George, in which they all smiled at the fact that their friend knew their favorite drinks.

He sat next to George with his own plate and cup of coffee, the other three saying a thanks with amazement in their eyes before beginning to eat.

Once they had finished their breakfast, Dream stood and looked to George.

"Are you feeling okay? Well enough to still do something today? It's okay if yo-"

"Yeah I'm okay! I already said it's just like.. a morning thing, sorry," George rubbed his arm shyly, standing up and making his way to their- Dream's bedroom to return the sheet he had taken with him. Oh, and to get dressed.

-

Everyone had met back in the living room with their swimming trunks on("Go get swim shorts on, we're going to the beach") and grabbed a few bags that held snacks, water, and towels.

They all hopped into Dream's car, deciding who sat in front with a very aggressive eenie-meanie-miney-moe. (It was George)

The car ride consisted mostly of Sapnap complaining on how he should've gotten to sit in the front, Bad complaining to Dream about how Sapnap was annoying, and George somehow finding himself staring at Dream the whole time.

Once they arrived, Sapnap was the first out. The others soon followed, taking the bags and putting them on the soft, bright sand. There were quite a bit of people on the beach, but they were in a more secluded area where there weren't _too_ many people.

They all pulled their shirts off and kicked their shoes near the bags, a series of gasps coming from the four boys as their feet hit the heat of the sand.

They all raced to the water, desperate to relieve their feet of the scorching sand and blazing heat hitting their bodies.

"It's so hot here!" George whined, kicking small splashes of water at nothing in particular. Not that it was a bad thing, he just felt the need to complain.

Sapnap elbowed Bad and they shared a look, quickly running off together to leave George and Dream alone. Bad may seem a little behind sometimes, but he's not dumb.

George watched as the other two ran off into the depths of the water, then looked over to Dream and his beautiful, toned body.

George had to stop himself from reaching his hand out and dragging it down his friend's abs, instead just raked his eyes up and down the different muscles and scars that laid between Dream's ribs and side.

"I know I'm hot, but it's rude to stare~" Dream teased, making a very flustered George turn away. This didn't solve much because he was quickly turned back around by his wrist and forced to meet eyes with the other.

"Dream-"

"I'm just teasing, Georgie." He whispered, earning a push against his chest. George wriggled out of his light grasp and started running(not very fast due to the water) to get deeper.

Dream chased after him until they made it waist deep, causing George to scream at the cold suddenly hitting the bare skin above his shorts.

"Jesus George people are gonna think I'm trying to kill you!"

This made George giggle and cross his arms to warm himself up, but he wound up just being dunked under by Dream who had pushed his shoulders down until he was fully under. Just for a second.

George came back up with wide eyes and held his arms away from his body as water dripped from his hair, an angry glare soon being pointed towards a wheezing Dream.

The wheezing however stopped when George jumped onto Dream, wrapping his legs around his waist and pushing his chest to make him fall backwards into the water.

They both found themselves now neck deep in the water, holding onto each other while sitting on their knees in the sand and laughing.

"You're such- an idiot!" Dream said in between laughs, and the two couldn't seem to stop their fit of giggles.

Once they had finally calmed down, they were just sitting in the water and gazing at each other. It almost seemed like a perfect moment, George was happy and forgot that he was sick. In that moment he forgot he was terminally ill, he forgot that he would be dead in just a few months. It was nice.

George felt his gaze travel from his friend's eyes and land on his soft lips, the ones that looked so, so kissable. How badly he wanted to just cup Dream's face, lean in, and-

Dream cleared his throat and looked away bashfully, letting go of the soft hold he had on George's shoulders.

George's mind began panicking, he surely saw how he was looking down to his lips, he was definitely uncomfortable and probably wanted nothing to do with George now. Because Dream is straight.

He backed away awkwardly, neither of them looking at each other now with red tinted ears and cheeks. Although the slight panic subsided when Dream looked back at him with a shy smile.

They both shared yet another giggle and helped each other up, making their way back to the beach where their other friends had been starting to make sand castles.

"Mind if we join?"

"Of course, losers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the typical beach scene


	5. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fall in love in a single touch  
> And fall apart when it hurts too much  
> Can we skip past near-death clichés  
> Where my heart restarts, as my life replays?

"Dude mine is totally the best." Sapnap stated as he stood proudly in front of his falling-apart sand castle.

None of the castles had really looked good, but they had fun trying their best at sticking wet sand into shapes without the use of shovels and buckets.

George scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Mine is CLEARLY, better than all of yours combined. Look! It has a little window!" He smiled as he pointed to a small blob of sand on the 'castle'.

The other three just stood in silence before bursting out in laughter and started kicking everyone's castles down until they were just piles of sand(which wasn't far off of what they already were).

-

They had gotten all their things together and were back in the car, talking and laughing about the things they did together(excluding the part where George and Dream gazed at each other while wrapped up in each other's arms).

Dream hadn't told them where they were off to now, but when he pulled into a parking spot at a restaurant everyone cheered quietly.

They got out without questioning and went inside, being seated at a booth. George sat with Dream and Bad sat with Sapnap, though they were all kind of smushed in by the small seats.

A young woman had come by with a notepad in hand, requesting to take their drink orders while they decided what they wanted to eat.

The girl giggled at a joke Dream had made, and they smiled at each other for a second more than George had liked. Their interaction that was so small, so minor, caused small pangs of hurt to stab at his heart.

The girl left and the friends talked about Minecraft, new plug-ins, and plans for future videos until the same waitress had come back to take their food orders.

"I'll uhm..." George glanced back at the menu and then looked up to the girl with a kind smile.

"I'll have the chicken strips and fries.. please." George said shyly, shrinking away into the seat.

"You're such a child, chicken strips?" Dream said with a chuckle, which made the waitress smile and laugh as well.

_Not funny. It's not funny. It's just food._

George wanted to say, but he just pulled his lips into a thin line and waited for the rest of them to order.

Sapnap had gotten a burger, Bad got macaroni(with a banana nut muffin), and Dream ended up getting a plate of spaghetti.

George was a bit quieter as he waited for food, lost in his thoughts. This girl was pretty, much prettier than George. She was someone Dream would want, healthy and tall and pretty and-

George was startled from his thoughts as a plate was loudly placed in front of him, making him jump slightly.

"Oh, thank you." He said quietly, looking down to his food.

Once she had given the rest of them their food and left, Sapnap looked at George with a smirk.

"You seem awfully shy when that hot waitress comes around, does Georgie have a little cruuuuush?" He teased, twirling his finger in the air to mock twirling hair.

_Quite the opposite, actually._

George rolled his eyes and began picking at his food, fake pouting at the teasing remarks his friends had made.

Once they were done, the waitress handed the receipt to Dream and walked away giggling. When he opened it, there was a small note scribbled on the bottom.

' _Call me? xxx-xxx-xxxx’_

Dream's nose was seen scrunching as he crumbled up the receipt and left it on the table. This made George smile to himself.

-

Back at home, it was now 6:18 and they decided to just relax the rest of the day and plan out what they would do tomorrow. Maybe play a few games.

"Any suggestions for tomorrow? I literally have nothing planned." Dream said as he scratched the back of his neck. They all sat on the couch, patches curled up in George's lap.

Dream was surprised that patches had taken a liking to George, she hadn't liked the other two whatsoever, but was completely attached to George. If he was honest, it made him a bit jealous. His own cat choosing a complete stranger over him, ridiculous.

"Uhhh, I've never been here I have no idea what there's to do here." Bad said and the others just nodded to what he had said.

"We'll figure it out tomorrow." Dream had shrugged and let his head rest back against the couch with a comfortable sigh.

"Do you have any alc-eehal?" Sapnap says after a few moments of silence, causing bad to gasp and hit him on the arm.

"You're only 19 mister!" Bad scolds, continuing to throw light punches.

Dream only smiles and stands up, going to the kitchen and bringing in a case of beers.

Bad is absolutely appalled at this, he scoffs and waves his arms in the air

"Dream! I thought you were better than this!"

"He's an adult, it's fine bad!"

Sapnap had grabbed out a can and already had it chugged down, reaching for his second one.

George hadn't ever drank before, so he figured he'd try just once.

Dream and bad argued with each other on why it was and wasn't a good idea, while George slowly downed his first can. Gross.

At this point, Sapnap had drank 3 cans and George was just finishing his first.

After an hour, Sapnaphad been completely wasted on the couch. Dream and bad hadn't drank any, deciding it was best to stay responsible. George was a horrible lightweight, already being affected after one can.

Sapnap and George were sprawled out on the couch, telling slurred stories with their arms waving. George was just a bit buzzed, not nearly as bad as sapnap.

It had been a while of Dream talking with bad as they let the others try and sober down, but Sapnap didn't seem to be getting any better.

Dream stood and took the rest of the beers to the fridge, deeming the idiot boy too drunk to be having any more to drink.

The two frowned and Sapnap yelled something about not being done, and Dream just rolled his eyes.

"Okay okay, bad how about you take Sapnap to bed? I'll take you George, come on." Dream said, having enough of sapnaps annoying self.

George mock pouted, but complied and stood up to go with Dream.

Sapnap had surprisingly complied as well without putting up a fight.

Sapnap would surely have a killer hangover in the morning.

George was sat on the bed as Dream slowly started pulling the boy's shirt up over his head. He passed some of his shorts to George to change in to, too lazy to dig through George's bad to find his own clothes.

George settled into the bed and laid down, falling asleep almost immediately after his head hit the pillow.

-

George had waken back up a few hours later to an annoyed "oh my god!" Coming from across the bedroom. It was currently 2:46 in the morning and Dream was doing speed runs on his computer.

George yawned and sat up, silently slipping out of the bed and going up behind Dream. He slowly wrapped his arms around Dream's shoulders and muttered a soft "when are you coming to bed?"

This made Dream jump with a surprised "oh shit! George!"

George hummed and opened his tired eyes more, noticing Dream had been streaming. Oh.

"Oh you're streaming..?" George said as he let go of Dream's shoulders, rubbing the tired from his eyes.

He could see the chat starting to go wild with questions, in which he just went and sat back on the bed to watch Dream do his runs.

(The clip was recorded and began trending all over Twitter later in the night)

"Can I just watch?" George mumbled, yawning once again as he wrapped a blanket around himself.

"No, no just go back to sleep. I'll be there in a few minutes okay?" Dream had looked at George and smiled, waving him away to go back to sleep.

George nods and goes back to his side of the bed, sitting and waiting with crossed arms for Dream to come lay with him.

Dream says a quick goodbye to his stream and hits the power button on his computer to turn it off before he crawls up the bed and lays next to George.

"Come on, let's go back to sleep okay?" Dream whispers, looking up at the sleepy boy that looked like he could pass out any second.

George simply hums and let's himself cuddle into Dream's arms. Quite forward, but he couldn't care less in his sleepy state.

Dream tries to pull away a bit, but George just whines and clings onto him harder, and Dream didn't mind.

"Good night, George."

No response, just soft breathing to signify he was already asleep.

-

Usually George was one to get up early, yesterday he had just needed the sleep after worrying about his flight and also the horrid coughing attack.

So, it was around 8:30 in the morning as he began stirring awake. His eyes stung slightly, but he managed to keep them open as he stretched his arms above his head.

Next to him was a still sleeping Dream that was laying on his side and breathing deeply.

_He looks so peaceful_

George had absentmindedly reached his hand out and laid his cold knuckles against his friend's cheek, admiring the small constellation of freckles.

He almost screamed when he noticed Dream's eyes had slowly opened and were now staring back at him.

Had Dream noticed? Had he noticed the way his eyes held a longing look of want as he smiled softly to him? While he was _sleeping_?

Surely he was creeped out. When someone watches you sleep, your friend especially, it's pretty fucking creepy.

A nervous smile made its way to George's lips as he slowly pulled his hand away, but Dream had taken it and placed it back on his cheek.

George tilted his head slightly, looking down at his friend. This was strange.

"Dream?" He whispered, earning a hum in response.

"Why did you.." He knitted his brows, trying to think of what he had wanted to ask. Why did he do that? Why did he? Why?

"Your hand is cold," Dream said with a chuckle, leaning into the touch. George snatched his hand away and slid off the bed with a heavy sigh. This was _too_ weird.

"I'm gonna shower," George quickly left the room, just eager to get out of there.

He waited until the water was practically boiling hot before he got in, closing his eyes and letting it sting into his body. This was something he would miss, being able to take long, hot showers.

it was probably rude to take long showers at other people's house though.

So after 10 minutes he shut the water off, reached for his towel, and hopped out. He hadn't brought any clothes in, so he awkwardly stepped back into Dream's room with the towel just hanging around his waist.

Dream whistled at George, making him grumble and mutter something about him being an absolute idiot.

What happened; it wouldn't leave George's mind no matter how hard he tried to be rid of it.

Dream simply pulled his hand back up to his face, that's it.

But it felt so oddly intimate, as he looked over to Dream, who was still tangled in the sheets scrolling through his phone, he wondered what would happen if he just confessed everything.

_Can I be your person?_

_Can I be the person you fall in love with?_

_Would you be able to hold me, kiss me, look at me and pray everything would be okay?_

_Even if you knew everything wouldn't be okay._

_Would you hold onto my waist and twirl me in the kitchen while we dance to old music?_

_I want to be your person, I want to love you._

_Could you love me back, even knowing that I would be gone as soon as you had me?_

_Could you ever want me in the way that I want you?_

Of course he wouldn't. Because no idiot would be stupid enough to love someone who would spend the rest of their short life rotting away in a hospital.

When would George become so sick that he would have to spend every night alone in a cold hospital bed?

George hadn't realized he had been hyperventilating and crying until he felt large, warm arms press around his body and envelop him.

" _Shh, it's okay Georgie, you're okay. Breathe for me."_

A quiet, broken sob escaped his lips as he shook lightly, resting his head on Dream's chest. 

George isn't an emotional person, he likes to think. But it was getting hard, a little too hard than he would have ever expected.

They stayed like that a while longer, Dream whispering that everything would be okay until George calmed down and was just staring at the floor in embarrassment.

Would this be an every day thing? It seemed to happen both mornings he had stayed there, ending up in his friend's arms while he told him that it would be alright. Maybe this dumb cancer was screwing with his emotions, too.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Dream finally asked, swiping a thumb across George's cheek to wipe away a stray tear.

Dream knew something was up. From the beginning when George had broken down on call, how he had stopped streaming as much, yawned consistently every time he _did_ stream.

Oh how badly George just wanted to spill everything, tell him how scared he truly was.   
  


_I'm scared Dream, I'm so scared_

_I don't want to die_

_I don't want to die, please don't let me die_

_I'm scared._

But he didn't, he held his tongue and shook his head. He wasn't going to tell anyone, and he wasn't going to love Dream.

He had chosen at that moment, that he would abandon all feelings he had for his friend because it wasn't worth it in the end.

That was definitely possible, right? Just.. just don't look at Dream.

Don't feel anything, that's not hard.

He started by pushing at Dream's chest, but it did nothing. He pushed and threw his fists at his chest, tried to leave the embrace, tried to scream, tell him to leave him alone.

But nothing came out, just small raspy breaths and weak pushes.

George was tired, and Dream was worried.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Dream stated with his arms still holding George tightly to his chest. It was soft, though. His voice was comforting, it sounded like sweet honey.

"I can't tell you," George whispered, drawing small patterns into his wrist with his finger.

"Yes you can. Let me help you, are you sick?"

"I'm- I'm..." George felt absolutely awful about lying, could he even do it? He can't lie to his best friend. He can't lie to the man he loves.

"I'm okay." Is all he said before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath.

"Can we just get some breakfast?"

"I'll go wake the others."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crybaby


	6. Mercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll go anywhere you want  
> Anywhere you want me  
> I know the further I go  
> The harder I try, only keeps my eyes closed  
> And somehow I've fallen in love

Breakfast was quiet.

Well, for George it was. He sat at the stool while his friends talked, figured out plans.

He poked at the food in front of him, not having the heart to tell them that he had lost his appetite.

So he just continued poking at the spongey eggs, hoping that he would somehow trick himself into thinking they would be good for him.

_Slow, deep breaths._

The nausea didn't help, the pit in his stomach begging to be filled, but he knew it would end up making him puke later.

"George?"

He snapped his gaze to Bad, who had called his name a few times.

"How does the arcade sound?"

George had just nodded, a probably very obviously forced smile playing on his lips. He was distracted, not exactly paying the most attention to what was happening or what his friends had been saying.

He did however hear that there was a big arcade an hour away that they had wanted to spend the whole day at to hopefully get a good prize. That would be fun, spend the day with his friends to play a bunch of games.

Before he knew what was happening, everyone had jumped up to get ready to leave.

-

They had all met in the car, Sapnap in the front, bad and George in the back.

"So how far is this place again?" George asked, looking out the window at the trees that blurred by.

"Just under an hour," Dream replied a little too quickly. It was clear that he was excited, the way he bounced his knee, how he drummed his fingers against the wheel. His wide smile that showed his gorgeous dimples, the jitter in his voice.

This made George smile softly to himself, the small things that were just so pleasant about Dream.

Sapnap had the aux cord, which everyone groaned at, but he ended up playing actually good music that everyone sang along loudly to(except an occasional cuss word making bad freak out and demand the song be changed immediately).

The time seemed to fly by as they all laughed and cheered to songs, and soon enough the car had pulled into the parking lot of a big building with bright lights strobing around.

It had only been 12 when they arrived, so they figured they'd stay until 5 or 6 and then make their drive back home. Maybe stay a little longer, it wasn't all that thoroughly planned out.

Now Dream was naturally a very cocky and confident person, quite competitive as well. It was an annoying trait that made Sapnap and George roll their eyes.

His annoying confidence shone through the second they walked through the doors,

"Whoever gets the most tickets wins, hm? I'll win, but you all can go against each other." Dream had said with a smirk, paying for tokens that they could all use(“I’m paying you back later idiot,”)

"You're stupid if you think you're winning. What's the prize?" Sapnap retorted, curling his lip in irritation.

"Ooh! Ooh! Winner gets ALL the tickets!" Bad piped up, smiling and bouncing on his heels excitedly.

George giggled and nodded. This would be fun, he knew he may not win.. but it was worth a shot. It didn't really matter if he won anyways, he'd just end up getting the rest of them things they wanted with the tickets.

Dream handed everyone a large amount of tokens, then immediately ran off to go play.

"Oh shit!"

"LANGUAGE!"

"Whatever- good luck!" They had all said quickly before running off themselves.

George didn't have a game plan- he just went to whatever looked like it would give tickets. The stacker caught his eye, it had a chunky wad of tickets tied together in the prize case if he would manage to get the little red pixels all the way to the top. 

So he pushed a token in, got his hand ready on the button, and started pressing it.

"Fuck!" He cursed under his breath, almost immediately making the first of 3 layers fall off from missing the previously placed stack.

He had made it pretty close to the top, but then missed and the game was over.

He pushed another token in, hitting the button a little more aggressively each time. After about 4 games, he had managed to make it to the top. It had to have been pure luck, because he swore he hit the button a second too late.

The game dinging to signify he had made it to the top and was to pick a prize, he threw his arms in the air and silently cheered as to not disrupt anyone else near him.

He selected the ticket prize, which ended up being 1,500.

Good start.

He shoved the tickets into the pocket of his hoodie, looked around, and walked over to another game.

Crossy road, it was called. George was a little confused, wasn't this a game on phones? Whatever- the top score of the day was at 72, easy enough right?

He somehow got past the score within the first few games, and continued playing the (surprisingly addictive) game until he racked up 545 tickets.

He was at 2,045 tickets now, that had to have been a lot. He heard a loud cheer coming from across the arcade, it was Sapnap.

Maybe he won a jackpot or something? It wouldn't shock him if he had even just cheered at winning a single ticket, his friend was pretty dramatic.

He continued playing, and playing, and playing, sometimes meeting up with a few of the others to compare tickets and whine if the other had more than him.

5:30 had rolled around and they all agreed to meet up to turn tickets in.

George had somehow gotten 3,001("the number is so uneven! That's disgusting!"), and had been fairly certain he either got first or second place. There's no way he'd have gotten that much without that stacker win, so he was grateful for his steady hands and timing.

Dream wore that same cocky smirk as he did when he suggested the challenge. The three others all shared a look and rolled their eyes, wanting to wipe that aggravating smirk right off his stupid face.

They all counted their tickets, and Dream had won with 5,124 tickets. How did he even manage that? He later explained he had relied completely on luck, and ended up winning 2 jackpots. Of _course_.

Sapnap had 2,476, and Bad came out at 1,210(he had spent a lot of his tokens on claw machines to get stuffed animals for Rat and Skeppy)

They all groaned when Dream announced his amount with his hand held out, standing proudly and awaiting his friends to put their tickets in his hand(the amount had been printed onto little ticket papers that showed how many they had).

They had reluctantly placed them in his hand and went up to the counter so Dream could get his prizes. The guy standing at the counter counted the tickets and the final amount was 11,811.

Bad had gasped quietly at this, clenching his fist and whining that he wanted them all.

Dream no longer wore his smirk, instead a lopsided smile that made him look like a dopey idiot. George loved it though, he loved when he wore genuine smiles like this.

"I calculated- you all can have..." a pause to look back down at his phone calculator,

"2,925 tickets for each of us, okay?"

The others smiled and nodded excitedly, looking at the counter and wall to find what they wanted.

George's eyes seemed to sparkle as they landed on a rather large brown tabby cat stuffed animal- it looked just like patches! Not exactly, of course. But it had big green eyes, the same small trail of white down its nose and forehead, and a white belly.

He pointed to the cat, hugging onto it tightly when the guy handed it to him.

He gave the leftover tickets to Sapnap, who looked in amazement at the cat that looked like his friend's.

"That looks like Patches!" Dream exclaimed with a laugh.

"I know! I uh- I got it, for you." George smiled, shoving it to Dream with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Dream made an awe sound and stuck his lip out.

"Georgie _loooooves_ me~" he sang, ruffling George's hair.

"Yeah you wish." He huffed out in response, turning away to look at what the other two had chose to get.

_Of course I love you, painfully so._

-

They were now back home, all setting their prizes down on the floor by the couch(Sapnap got a nerf gun and named it the vlog gun, he was annoyingly happy about it).

Dream sat the stuffed animal on a chair and demanded none of them touched it.("Patches is queen of this chair, touch her and you're sleeping outside.")

It had been around 8 when they got back home, just stopping to grab some mc Donald's for dinner beforehand.

They were all now sitting at the dining table playing a random card game.

"Uhhh go fish?" Sapnap said, looking at his cards with a confused expression.

"We're playing uno dumbass!" George said with a laugh, the cuss making bad huff and yell "HEY!"

The others giggled at bad who now had his arms crossed.

"What if we.. Hmm. What if we played truth or dare?" Dream suddenly asked, dropping his cards on the table. They all nodded, getting pretty tired of playing cards.

"Okay okay- I'll go first. Bad, truth or dare?"

A few moments of thinking later,

"Truth."

"Do you.. like anyone?" Dream said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Bad only scoffed and playfully rolled his eyes.

"What is this, middle school?"

"Answer the question Bad boy halo!" Sapnap whispered, accentuating the use of his name

"Well uh, yeah, I guess." He mumbled shyly, rubbing his arm. No one ever said he had to tell who.

"Okay! I choose George. Truth or dare?" Bad quickly moved on to escape any questions they may have wanted to throw at him, now pointing to George.

"Truth?"

"Hmm.. what about you, then? Do _you_ have a crush?"

George froze, trying to stay calm and not panic. Does he lie? Would it matter? He can just say it's Maia or something if they ask in the future.

"Well, yeah I guess." He laughed nervously, eyes darting between his friends who stared at him expectingly.

"I'm not telling you idiots who. Sapnap, truth or dare?"

"Dare, I ain't no bitch boy!" He declared, earning another angry grumble from bad.

"Okay, let me call anyone in your contact list."George said this with a slight smirk. It'd be funny to call sapnap's mom, because apparently that was their humor.

Sapnap pulled his phone out, unlocked it, and tossed It to George.

He looked through the contact, tapping his chin while he decided who to call.

"Dude you have like no friends, get a life" George mumbled with a giggle, finally clicking on some random person.

After 3 rings, the person picked up and Sapnap quietly groaned at who had been dialed. It was one of his other friends he hadn't really spoken to in a while. Someone he _didn’t_ want to hate him.

George smiled mischievously, giggling at the stupid sentence he was about to spill out. "Sapnap just shit literally everywhere! We need serious help, he might die! You were in the emergency contact, we need your help! It's everywhere!" He said suddenly, a worried urgency in his voice.

"What?" Was all that was heard from the other line before George broke out in a fake(but weirdly believable) sob, crying about how there was shit splattered all over Sapnap's house. So stupid. Literally so stupid.

These boys had the minds of literal 5 year olds, because they all broke out in laughter and George hung up before the friend even had time to answer.

"You're literally so stupid that's the absolute dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Dream said between wheezing.

The laughter had eventually calmed down, Bad hadn't even been upset at the use of the word shit thankfully.

The game went on a while longer, just stupid questions and dares that made for a fun game the rest of the night.

It was now 11, and Dream agreed to let George stream on his computer to get some content out.

The others played on their laptops on the SMP in different rooms.

George was in Dream's room where his computer was, Sapnap was In the spare bedroom, Bad was in the living room, and Dream was sitting at the kitchen table, all on their laptops.

"Hey guys, welcome," George greeted after he started his stream.

They all agreed to work together and build a big beach house in memory of staying in Florida.

George had found a small beach not too far away and cleared out the sand where they had wanted to build, Sapnap and Dream were in the nether collecting quartz, and bad was starting to lay down a foundation for the building.

Once the foundation was laid out and enough resources were collected, they started building multiple floors of the house. Bad had put himself in charge of decorating, which nobody complained about.

"Hey George," Dream started, snickering to himself.

They were all in a discord VC, which was dumb since they were in the same house, but they had been in different rooms so it made sense.

"Yeah?"

"Are you-" Dream began laughing, that distinct wheeze coming out that made George smile.

"Are you a Minecraft dog? Cause I wanna tame you with my bone," Dream cackled, his hand slamming against his keys while he laughed.

George had a look of disgust, looking at the camera as if saying _help_ to the viewers.

"You're ridiculous. That was horrible. Get away from me, you're disgusting." George said as he punched Dream's character, Sapnap laughing with Dream and Bad just being confused.

George however couldn't help the red from blooming at his ears and cheeks, couldn't hide the small smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth.

The chat noticed this and pointed out his blush, which just made Dream tease him even more.

Dream had been making it incredibly hard for George to try and surrender his feelings. Incredibly hard.

As Dream continued making flirtatious remarks the rest of the night, George realized that he was _royally fucked._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I’m projecting my humor into them. It’s me, I’m the 5 year old that laughs at the word poop :D


	7. As Long As You Love Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to hide it so that no one knows  
> But I guess it shows  
> When you look into my eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to put here that there will be more depressive themes and such moving forward in this story. If this is triggering, I advise that you do not continue.
> 
> Living with illness is hard, it’s unbelievably hard and it takes tolls on mental health much more than you might think.
> 
> It’s a full time job with no pay, no vacation, and no breaks. It’s utterly frustrating and goes a lot deeper than just physical health. Keep fighting! <3

George had once again, been the first awake.

He sat in bed, scrolling through Twitter and humming small tunes to himself.

Eventually Dream had waken up as well, smiling into the pillow at the soft hums that came from beside him.

George frowned and looked to him as he stirred into a more comfortable position.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," George said quietly, turning his phone off.

"No, no it's alright. What time is it?"

He didn't await an answer and looked to the alarm clock that read 10:19

"Oh, perfect." Dream whispered, mostly to himself. He quickly scrambled up and threw a hoodie on, explaining to George the plans that he had made for today.

They would make food and pack it up, take it to a park for a picnic, go to a skating rink, and then they would go back for a firework show when it got closer to night.

Dream woke the others and they all got dressed, meeting back in the kitchen to start making lunch.

They had eaten a small snack to make up for not having breakfast, then got food ready. George cut and packed some containers of fruit, and the other three made a variety of different sandwiches for them all. They weren’t good cooks, but it was good enough(“food is food!”)

"So are we just like, going to a random park?" Sapnap had asked once they were in the car and driving,

"Don't laugh. It's a flower garden."

Bad and George awed while Sapnap snickered at this. A picnic at a flower garden, that seemed like a place you would have a romantic, sappy date at.

It only took 10 or 15 minutes to get there, and Dream seemed especially excited about the choice of place.

Dream grabbed the bag of food, bad grabbed the blanket they would sit on, and they all started walking towards the entrance.

It was beautiful, George had understood why his friend was so excited about it.

They walked in towards a fountain that had been placed in the middle of a circle of different flowers and plants.

It looked like something you'd see in fairy tales- light shining down into the crystal water housed in the mossy fountain, gorgeous flowers blooming from all around.

George spun in a circle slowly, taking in his surroundings.

It was slightly overgrown, winding paths running along the grass with small blossoms sitting between the cracks of cobble.

It was fragrant, the tropical flowers stinging into his nose with a sickening sweetness.

It was spacious, abandoned. They had been the only people there, and nobody was upset about it.

They laid the large blanket out and sat down, spreading out their food and beginning to make their plates.

This was nice. It was quiet and peaceful, birds were chirping and singing quietly in the distance.

"This is really nice, Dream." George said quietly with a smile, stabbing at a strawberry with his fork. The others had silently agreed, still awing at the scene.

Bad had plucked a small stray flower from near them and tucked it into his shirt pocket so it peeked out.

They told childhood stories while they ate, laughing, but not too loudly to disrupt the garden.

After they finished eating, they continued talking and even got up to stick their feet in the fountain.

It was cold, that's no surprise. But it felt nice in the Floridian heat.

Time seemed to go by pretty fast, because soon enough it had already been 3 pm.

"We should probably get going, there's a skating rink I wanted to go to before the fireworks."

It was kind of random, the fireworks display. There wasn't necessarily an event happening, just a random firework show that would take place tonight.

They all packed back into the car after cleaning up, and George was getting more nervous by the minute. He didn't know how to skate. That's embarrassing. He'd probably end up falling and humiliating himself. But this was supposed to be fun, so he'd try his best to just.. have fun.

The four were now tying the laces of their skates, readying themselves to go out into the rink. There was music playing, along with lights that flashed to the music.

George squealed as he was shoved out into the rink, Dream quickly following after him as he laughed.

He held onto the wall, trying his best to not stumble and embarrass himself.

He felt an arm wrap around his waist, holding him up so he wouldn't fall.

"I can stay up on my own," he mumbled, butterflies darting around his stomach. This only made Dream hold onto him tighter, whispering something about helping him anyways.

George cursed at his heart for pounding against his ribcage, this wasn't fair.

Dream was holding onto his waist, guiding him around the rink, looking down at him every so often with that dumb smile.

George ended up grabbing onto Dream's hand in attempt to save himself when he began slipping, and once he was steady again, neither of them had bothered taking their hands away.

This hurt. This was painful, torture if he felt like being dramatic.

Because George loved Dream, and Dream saw him as his best friend. 

Gosh how he hated the way dreams life had seemingly fit perfectly with his own. The way Dream slept on the left and George slept on the right side of the bed, the way their hands slotted together in an almost gross perfectness.

How his home smelt of lavender and oak, the scent that reminded him so much of his childhood. It caused George a nauseating bubble of hope that twisted in his stomach. Maybe- just maybe this would work.

This could work, right?

No. It's only been 2 days, _stop being stupid._

So instead of telling the other how dearly he loved him in that moment, he slipped his hand out from Dream's and grabbed onto the wall again.

George had been grabbed by Sapnap, who pulled him to the other side of the rink.

"Dude," he started, looking at George with an unimpressed expression.

"Are you gonna confess to him or what? You two look like an old married couple, this is just painful to watch."

George felt his eyes widen. His friend was only joking, surely. Though this didn't stop his heart from frantically slamming against his chest once again, it didn't stop his breath quickening. How did he know? Was it that obvious? No, he's joking.

"What?" was all he mustered up, smiling nervously.

"He likes you too, you know. The way you two look at each other is absolutely disgusting." Sapnap said with a chuckle, punching George on the arm lightly.

"You guys are dense as shit. Just kiss or something already,"

This made George scoff and quickly turn to skate back to Dream, but he had been going too fast and literally fell into his arms. If this wasn't the most cliche movie moment, nothing was.

"Woah woah, calm down," Dream laughed out, pulling George back up with his arms still situated around his back to keep him from falling again.

George looked up into Dream's piss eyes, his face flushed and burning.

Dream had been looking back down at him and George could swear that, for only a second, that look of want had been glinting in Dream's eyes.

But then it was gone, and Dream had been pulling them to go skate again.

(Yes, in the background, Sapnap and Bad had face palmed and groaned to themselves whilst watching the scene play out.)

The rest of the evening was filled with the boys stumbling around, laughing at each other, making fun of each other's inability to skate.

It had quickly become time to leave, as the sky was beginning to get dark and the fireworks would be starting soon.

They gave their skates back and raced to the car, hopping in and immediately going to where they would be sitting to watch.

When they started going up a hill to a deserted cliff, everyone had been mildly confused. But once they reached the top, they knew it would be the best spot.

It was a cliff with a patch of grass, right in front of where the fireworks would be shot off.

They brought their blanket from the picnic and sat down, chatting while they awaited the show to start.

The stars were appearing in clusters, lighting up the sky beautifully. It was a perfect night. Perfect. Could George confess while the fireworks went off? Would they be loud enough to muffle his words so no one would hear? At least then maybe the ache would go away.

George had slowly scooted himself closer to Dream, resting his head against the other's shoulder.

A small light had shot up through the sky, bursting into an array of blues and purples. It wasn't big, just a small one.

The four cheered at the explosion, then quieted down as the rest began shooting up. It was amazing. The lights shone onto their faces, their smiles brighter than any star in the sky.

He looked up to Dream, who was looking ahead and smiling with his dumb dimples that George had fallen so hard for.

His soft lips that parted slightly, the shaggy bangs that fell over his eyes. The way he would tuck his hair behind his ear when his locks fell too far over his face.

He thought of the soft, breathy laughs that were so much different from the tea kettle wheezes.

How George couldn't stop smiling every time him and Dream spoke over the phone, or how he perked up and rushed to respond when the notification came up that he had texted him.

Even the way Dream spoke softer, more delicately to George in private.

These were all the little things that George soon realized made Dream so special.

George would surrender everything he had, drop anything he was doing, he just wanted Dream. He needed Dream, he would do anything.

And it was so, incredibly selfish. To want Dream all to himself, just to leave him.

But in that moment it didn't matter, nothing mattered.

Dream is what he was alive for, what he had been fighting for. Perhaps Dream was the only thing keeping George from just slipping off that cliff to quicken his fate.

But the thing was that the love was unrequited. Of course it was, George knew his friend was straight and could never love him like that.

_However everything seemed to shift and change when Dream looked back down to him, cupped his cheek, and slowly leaned down._

_Suddenly, lips were on his own and George was afraid he had been dreaming. This was a dream, right? This had to be a dream, not real._

"George?" Dream questioned, snapping a finger in front of his face.

Of course he had imagined it. Closed his eyes and daydreamed what he wanted to see. They were still sitting while the small fireworks were shooting off to start the show.

Nothing had happened, it had almost made George want to cry. Why couldn't it have been real? Because Dream doesn't love him.

So they continued to just watch, watch as the fireworks go off, while George hugs onto himself.

How long was left? 5 months? At most, the doctors said. He said 7 months _at most_ , 2 had already passed.

Would he confess? There was nothing to lose, so he might as well. He decided that he would confess sometime this week, if things went bad, he'd simply go back home and just, die.

Would things be any better if Dream felt the same? The guilt would be so extremely painful, knowing he would be dead and leave his lover before they could even do anything.

_Could you want me the way I want you?_

George found himself falling again. Not falling into Dream's arms, but instead, falling out of them.

The effort wasn't there to keep him close, it never was. George would never open his eyes to realize how close he was to crashing, because if he did, he would see how badly his bones were already breaking, how horribly his heart had shattered at the thought of being unlovable by the one he pined so deeply for.

_  
If I opened my eyes, the risk is there that.. that I come to the unfortunate realization that you truly do not love me._

_I hope that by the time I wake up, I don't either._

George had been stuck thinking to himself, not paying attention to the fireworks.

And soon enough, it was time to go back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, an idiot who can’t seem to open his eyes and see that he’s not the only one in love   
> (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)
> 
> School starts back up tomorrow. Massive f in chat
> 
> Anyways. Prepare for the next chapter ;)


	8. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will always hold you close  
> But I will learn to let you go  
> I promise I'll do better

George jumped slightly at the boom that rattled through the house. It was the next day, and everyone had agreed that they would be staying in for the storm that washed over in the night.

The rain slammed against the roof, it wasn't a pretty storm that helped you sleep at night, it was one that sent flash warnings to all of their phones as the thunder roared loudly at them.

George didn't like storms. He didn't like thunder, it was loud and annoying and scary.

And it made him feel like a baby, because who's scared of storms?

They had all been sitting on the couch huddled in blankets, watching some random documentary on Dream's laptop that sat on the coffee table.

George was dangerously close to Dream, but everyone had been close together, it was cold and dark.

Oh yeah, the power went out.

It looked like it was night because of how dark it was outside, but it was really just past 11 am. the storm had started early in the morning, and was only expected to last a few more hours but nobody was completely sure about that.

Sheets of rain rushed across the grass outside the house, the trees flailing their branches as the rain hammered down onto them.

He jumped at another clap of thunder, squealing quietly into the blanket.

Bad must have been frightened as well, because he sat with his mouth in a frown and his eyebrows knitted together tightly.

The documentary they were watching was going on about the most dangerous animals, or something like that. It was honestly pretty interesting, enough to keep his mind off the rain momentarily.

Dream put his arm around George's shoulders, pulling him into his side. He would try and convince himself it was because it's cold, but deep down he knew the real reason.

George smiles from under the blanket, nuzzling his nose into Dream's hoodie. He inhaled, taking in a breath of the scent that clung to the hoodie.

Maybe if he could just stay like this, cuddled into Dream's side and breathing in the scent that made him feel so unbelievably safe.

Even though the storm was scary, he hoped it would keep going so he could stay like this.

-

An hour had passed, the storm calmed slightly, but it was still thrashing against the windows, whipping the trees around.

Dream and George were still cuddled together, arms now wrapped around each other. Heat radiated off of Dream, sparks burning George when their skin met.

Sapnap and bad had moved away a little bit, disgusted by the amount of contact the two had. Sapnap had even snapped a picture at some point.

The documentary had ended and they moved onto a different one, it was more intense, something about different people who had survived unfortunate situations.

Despite getting a good night of sleep, George had begun getting sleepy. Today was really.. boring. The documentary was no longer interesting, the rain had calmed down so it was no longer as worrisome, and-

Dream looked to George who had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He thought that, surely the position was uncomfortable, so he gently lifted George into his lap so that his head was now rested up against his chest.

George looked cute, he was always cute.

Dream loved to admire George when he was sleeping. Maybe that seemed creepy, but it was the only time he had no risk of George catching him.

George's lips were slightly parted as deep breaths escaped his mouth, his chest rising and falling so delicately.

He pulled fingers through George's soft brown hair, enjoying the presence of the small boy laying against his chest. It was so peaceful, so peaceful he almost didn't realize the face Sapnap had been making at him.

The smirk he wore made Dream roll his eyes.

"Shut up."

"I didn't even say anything!"

-

When George woke up, his nose was nuzzled into a hoodie and he was pressed impossibly close to Dream. It was still dark, the laptop was closed, Sapnap and Bad weren't on the couch with them anymore.

George didn't move, he just stayed still and listened to Dream's breathing.

_Was he sleeping?_

_Dream was sleeping, right?_

"I love you, Dream" George whispered, curling his slim fingers around the other's.

"What?"

 _Fuck_.

"Nothing."

Had George been caught? He was certain that Dream heard, but maybe he could play it off.

"I love you too," Dream whispered, squeezing onto George's hand.

"Do you?" George said after a few moments, tilting his head to look up at Dream. His pulse had quickened, thumping wildly around his chest.

Dream didn't say anything. He instead brought a hand to George's chin and tilted his head up, tentatively leaning down and connecting their lips.

George's eyes widened in shock before he melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Dream's neck, afraid he would disappear at any moment.

He still wasn't sure if he had been imagining the kiss, but shocks shooting through his senses told him it was real, _this was real._

George adjusted himself to sit so he was now straddling Dream, sneaking peeks at the other every time they broke apart for air.

The kisses were soft, sweet. Everything and more than he had ever imagined, the movies were definitely nothing compared to the real thing.

Dream's lips were chapped and tasted of sweet cherry. Slightly calloused hands were cupping George's cheeks, occasionally thumbing his jaw.

George had been the one to pull apart for good, panting as he tangled his hands into Dream's messy hair.

Dream placed another gentle kiss on George's neck, mumbling against his skin.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that,"

The patter of rain against the window added to the seemingly unreal moment, the quiet rumbles of thunder in the distance singing to them as they gazed at each other.

George couldn't respond, he was too focused on the lips continuing to press small kisses against his neck. He was nervous, it was clear in the way he breathed unsteadily, how his hands had become sweaty.

A hand was placed on the back of his head, stroking his hair in a reassuring way. And suddenly, he was no longer nervous.

They sat in each other's arms, still breathing heavily, hot breaths sending tingles down their bodies.

But the moment was gone as soon as it came, as George choked into his sleeve and began trying to stand up from the embrace.

His vision blurred, his face had gone pale.

He stood in front of Dream, knees wobbling slightly as he continued choking into his hand.

"Dream?" He whispered, a distressed desperation in his voice.

"I don't..." Another shaky cough,

"I don't feel good," he breathed out before falling, luckily being caught in a pair of arms.

-

When George opened his eyes again, he was met to a white, unfamiliar ceiling. He looked around, vision still slightly hazy.

There was an IV hooked into his arm, sitting uncomfortably in the inner crook. That would be annoying.

"George," a voice whispered from next to the bed. It was Sapnap. The 3 friends were all seated around him.

An arm reached over and grabbed the small remote sitting on the bed, pressing a button to page a nurse to the room.

"They uhm, they're doing some blood tests and stuff.." Sapnap had said, grabbing onto George's hand to comfort him.

George's eyes widened as he snatched his hand away and hurried to sit up. They were gonna know. They can't know. _They can't know._

He looked around the room and then to his IV, reaching his hand down and scratching at it to try and rip it out. The blue tape that held the catheter in place didn't seem to budge much.

Dream and Sapnap had grabbed onto his arms, holding them down to the bed so he couldn't take the IV out.

George was now crying, hyperventilating as he struggled against their grips.

"You.. you need to leave!" He cried out, still trying to pull away in weak attempts. 

" _Please_!" He called breathlessly to his friends as a man came in to try and calm him down.

He had given up on trying to fight. His bones felt weak, he was too tired to struggle. He'd only been there a few hours.

"George, I'm gonna need you to calm down, okay?" The doctor had looked down at a chart, then back to George.

"We did some blood tests, you seem to have a large amount of white blood cells. Your medical records show that you were recently.. _diagnosed with leukemia."_

George gripped onto the white sheets, nodding slowly. He refused to look up. He didn't want to imagine the utter betrayal that would lay across his friend's faces.

why did this have to happen now?

It felt similar to when he had first gotten the news. He felt his heart best throb in his ears, just wanting to be alone. That same sad smile plastered across the doctor's face, it was pathetic.

This isn't how it was supposed to happen. He _just_ got his Dream.

"We suspect, the reason you fainted, was just generally because of dehydration and not getting enough nutrients. You've lost twenty pounds since your last visit,"

George had buzzed out what the man had been saying, just focusing on the small threads poking out from the sheet draping over him.

"What-" Dream started,

"What stage is it? Is it treatable?" He whispered, glancing to George with glazed over eyes.

"It is terminal, were you unaware?"

" _Yes_."

The doctor had muttered an apology and placed a hand on George‘s shoulder before promptly exiting the room to leave them.

They all sat in silence, except small sniffles coming from Bad every once in a while.

"George," Dream whispered, the hurt evident in his voice.

George didn't answer, he just sat and stared at the sheets, picking at his cuticles.

" _George_!" He had said again, making George finally look up.

"Why the fuck did you not tell us?" Sapnap snapped, furrowing his eyebrows. It wasn't loud, his voice was broken and crackly.

George opened his mouth, but no words came out. He didn't have an excuse.

"I just," his voice wavered, lip quivering slightly. He just wanted to go home. He fucked up. His friends hated him now, so he could just go home and die peacefully.

"I wanna go home." George whispered, trying his best to hold back the tears that so desperately wanted to flood out.

He had prepared himself to be yelled at, scolded, slapped, maybe.

But instead, he was enveloped in a hug by all three of his friends, he felt his back dampen from the tears.

"I'm so sorry," Dream whispered, sniffling into George's shoulder.

Sapnap and bad had begun rubbing small circles into his back, shaking softly as they let their tears slip silently.

This may have been even worse than getting the news, because what could he say? What could he do except sit there?

He didn't think about the ways it would affect the people around him, he just wanted to slip away quietly without a trace. But now they knew.

They all just sat there in each other's arms until another nurse had come in and spoke with them about discharge.

George did not like hospitals. Especially the itchy IV's that stung when they had to be ripped out. He'd been given a banana bag to correct whatever deficiencies he had neglected, he hated how it made him shiver as the solution shot through his arm. 

He felt relieved, to say the least, to get out of the grossly clean hospital that reeked of sterilization and rubbing alcohol.

-

When George was back at Dream's house, he just laid in bed wide awake while the other's slept. He was so incredibly tired, but unable to sleep. It was late, 1 in the morning maybe.

Nobody had discussed why George never told anyone, they understood to a point. It didn't stop the quiet tension that hung thickly in the air around them all, however. The already gloomy day had only gotten darker, sadder, uglier.

They'd quietly agreed to try and make this trip the best they could.

But now Dream knew, and right after they kissed.

"Dream?" George whispered, testing to see if he was awake.

A few moments passed before a hum came from the boy next to him.

"I'm sorry that I- that I kissed back. Even though I knew I.." He trailed off and sighed, only to be pulled closer into Dream.

"I'm happy you did," Dream whispered before kissing George's forehead.

It was what, the fourth day now? Since George had come to Florida? And things had been going so perfect.

What happened to getting rid of all feelings for Dream?? Too late for that now, and it felt good.

George slipped his frozen fingers underneath Dream's shirt to warm them up, making Dream squeal and writhe against the cold.

"Your hands are always so cold," Dream shivered, burying his nose in the other's soft hair.

"Sorry Dreamie~" he whispered back in a sing songy voice. Being in Dream's arms seemed to be everything he needed, because despite the terrifying and stressful day, he soon fell into an uninterrupted slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if anything medical related is incorrect, I’m not a doctor lol. If anything is incorrect, just ignore it and pretend that it’s right please   
> (☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞
> 
> Here’s a story: I went into DKA and had passed out in the x-ray room because I had too much morphine or something. My vision went all yellow and they kept telling me to wake up- I was reeeeally confused and my doctor felt so bad. 
> 
> Anyways rip gogy


	9. Turning Page

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I surrender who I've been for who you are  
> For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart  
> If I had only felt how it feels to be yours  
> Well, I would have known what I've been living for all along

_George looks around. He's in a field, an empty field of grass with stray dandelions scattering in certain places._

_It's peaceful, quiet. An atmosphere that seems a little too beautiful, a little too serene._

_George feels a panic rise in his chest._

_Am I dead?_

_In front of him, a man stumbles up from in a tall patch of grass. It's Dream._

_The panic subsides as George begins running towards Dream, ready to jump into his arms and embrace him._

_But there's a terror glinting in his eyes, a dread that had glazed them over as he stared ahead, right past George._

_He blinks, and suddenly he's in a hospital room, Dream standing in front of the bed with that same look._

_"I'm right here Dream, it's okay! I'm right here." He says softly, reaching his hand to rest it on Dream's shoulder. But his hand falls straight through._

_George's body had been laying in the bed, unresponsive and cold. Dead._

_"No! Dream I'm here!" He cried out, watching as a doctor had come in and consoled Dream._

_George had sunken to his knees at the door, watching as Dream shook his head in denial, trembling and gripping onto George's limp hand._

_"Dream I- I'm okay I promise! I'm-"_

George sat up straight and gasped, clasping a hand over his mouth with a loud slap.

"What the fuck!" George whispered, rubbing his eyes until blurred colors were in his vision.

He sighed shakily, slowly laying back down into the mattress. He stared up at the ceiling, dragging a hand across his face.

Dream had turned over and draped an arm across George's chest, kissing his shoulder softly.

"You okay?" He whispered, slurring from tiredness.

George only stayed quiet, closing his eyes again. Nightmares were something he did not need right now. They weren't new, but bringing Dream into them would be absolute torture.

"Just a nightmare," he whispered back finally, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep for a while.

Dream wrapped an arm around George and pulled him back in, mumbling something inaudibly before falling back asleep.

George smiled and breathed in deeply, letting the calming scent of sea and lavender burn in his nostrils. It wasn't a bad burn, it was a nice burn that helped him relax a bit more and forget about his nightmare.

George didn't end up getting much more sleep that night.

-

A week had passed.

They only had 3 more days together before they would all fly back home, and they all absolutely dreaded the thought.

It had been so much fun, they went to Disney world for 2 of the days, gone on more little picnics, swam at the beach, it was amazing.

Dream and George had even gone on a date alone. They had played it off as just going to the store so they could hide it from their other two friends, as they hadn't really even discussed what exactly they were.

"Dream?" George asked quietly after they had both woken up and were just sitting in bed.

"What uhm-" He stopped, thinking if he should really ask. It was probably just nerves. George is _not_ a confident person, especially in these types of situations.

"What are we?" He blurted, looking up at Dream who whore a small smirk.

"What do you want us to be?"

Of course George knew what he wanted, but was it what Dream wanted? Maybe he was being stupid, maybe he was being pessimistic.

But he was dying, that in itself was horrible. He didn't want to do that to Dream, he didn't want to love him and then drop dead.

He was already getting more and more sick, his cheek bones began hollowing out and his skin was paler than before. All in the past 2 weeks.

He would be bound to a cold bed, in a cold hospital, stuck eating red jello and lukewarm tomato soup from trays.

It had to happen any time now, right? It was only a matter of time before he fainted again and was deemed too sick to stay out on his own.

He didn't want to do that to Dream. It was something he'd never wish upon his worst enemy, slowly watching their lover lose themself until they can no longer breathe on their own.

"George?" Dream looked at him worriedly, tilting his head slightly.

"Sorry I- I'm not sure if I can do this." George whispered, looking down at his hands.

"What? What do you-"

"I'm going to die, Dream." He snapped his eyes up to meet Dream's, a sad smile pulling at his lips.

"I know." Dream put his hand on the other's, squeezing it gently.

"I love you, George. That will never change."

George nodded slowly, chewing on his bottom lip.

They stayed quiet for a bit. The air was uncomfortable and thick.

"I can't," the nerves stung at his chest, sending bees and ants to his stomach to gnaw at him. He knew what he wanted.

"I can't do this with- with you. You're just- _you_. And I'm _me_ and I can't.. I can't-"

"What does that mean?" Dream hissed quietly. It was now Dream's turn to be hurt. It was his bones that would start snapping now.

George wasn't sure what he was saying. Any excuse, anything to make up that would make Dream no longer want him back. Because he decided that, if he broke everything off now, it would save the heartbreak in the end.

And that had to be better.

"I don't- I don't want you. I don't _need_ you." George pulled his hand away and looked anywhere but at Dream.

He almost didn't hear the small "oh" that came out from the boy next to him.

_Fuck. Fuck. What am I doing._

George stood from the bed and left quietly, only looking back to Dream before he opened the door. The look on his face was almost haunting. He had looked so hopeful before- and now he had sat on the bed clutching the sheets, looking up at George so defeated and desperate.

He had to leave, get out of there. There was still a few days left until his plane back home.

He quickly ran to the spare bedroom and went in without knocking, crumbling into the side of the bed that Bad and Sapnap had been sleeping in.

"George..?" A groggy Sapnap had said at the sound of quiet sniffles from next to him. George was sat on the floor slumped against the bed with his head in his hands.

"Hey- hey what happened?" He sat up, slipping out of bed and onto the floor next to George.

"I fucked up Sap! I really, really fucked up." He cried out in a whisper, his voice wavering.

"I- I told Dream that I.. that I didn't want him."

"Do you?" Sapnap had been serious for once, not teasing him about the situation. How could he? His friend was crying in his room.

"Of course i do! You even said it. We _kissed_! We kissed Sapnap!" George now spoke with a slight anger evident in his voice.

He was angry at Dream- and he was angry at himself. He hated that Dream kissed him, it just made things all the more complicated.

He had just began dealing with the feelings he had, he had tried to just confess while Dream was asleep so he wouldn't be heard. So he could feel some type of closure. But that's not how it ended up.

He thought he could finally bury the feelings- get over Dream. Or at least get used to feeling. He would have never expected Dream to kiss him, even love him back.

But he did.

And that screwed everything up. Because Dream wasn't supposed to love him back, not now. Not with what's happening, not with George dying.

"Why would you say that then? What's wrong with you?" Sapnap had been angry too. He wasn’t loud, not wanting to wake bad. But he was angry that George would hurt his best friend and angry that he was crying about it.

"You're stupid! You guys are too dumb for each other!" He sighed heavily, standing up to go back to bed.

"You need to fix this, George. You can't do this alone. He loves you."

George didn't move, he continued to sit against the bed slumped in on himself.

How would he fix this? He can't face Dream. Not after seeing the helplessness plastered on his face.

So instead, he waited an hour or two before he went back into Dream's room when he wasn’t there, grabbed his bag, packed everything up, and left without a word. He called an Uber to pick him up and take him to a hotel that had been pretty close by.

_Sap Nappity_

_I'm at a hotel. Sorry I didn't say bye_

_What??_

_Why_

_I can't stay there_

_Not with him_

_Dude_

_He's so fucking upset_

George looked at the message for a few minutes before simply shutting his phone off and throwing it on the clean hotel bed.

He knew he couldn't just ignore them forever. He'd have to talk to Dream. Maybe.

He didn't _have_ to.

But he wanted to. He needed to talk to Dream again, he thought he might go crazy knowing that he hurt Dream and just left. And he didn't even mean to, which was the worse part.

Maybe he could wait, wait and ask Bad to come see him and help him figure out what to do. He knew Sapnap was upset at him as well, and bad was more understanding.

So he did. He waited the rest of the day out, getting a pizza delivered and just sitting in the bed scrolling through Twitter.

In the morning, he pulled his phone out after showering and brushing his teeth.

_Bad Boy Rawr_

_Bad I need your help_

_Can you come to the hotel I'm staying at?_

_Send your location, I'll be there soon_

He had answered almost immediately, as if he was sitting on the phone just waiting.

After about a half an hour, a knock had sounded at the door of the hotel room.

George slowly got up to open it, and froze in place to see Sapnap also standing there.

He tried to shut the door again, but Sapnap had stopped it and pried it back open.

"You can't do that, George. Dream is waiting in the car, you need to talk to him." Sapnap sounded firm, an importance in his voice that startled George.

He gulped and looked behind him at the room, then slowly nodded and stepped out. The others said they would wait in the room, and told them where the car was.

He walked down the stairs slowly, dread seeping in every step. His heart hammered wildly, anxious and unable to think of what he would say.

Apologize, of course. Would Dream even forgive him? He didn't mean anything he said. Does he say that? Would it make Dream hate him even more?

He had made it outside and to Dream's car, hesitantly opening the passenger door and sliding in.

They sat still, neither of them daring to move or speak.

"I didn't mean it," George whispered after a few minutes.

Dream looked over at him, but George kept his gaze focused on the floor mats in the car.

"Sapnap told me."

"Oh"

They were quiet again, neither of them looking at the other. They dwelled in the discomfort, George wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and flee, just get out.

But he couldn't, he was stuck in place.

"I don't want to hurt you. I know that- that I already have, but I thought it would save you from when I.." He paused and exhaled shakily,

"From when I'm too sick to get up. From when I can't even breathe on my own- from when I die."

Another pause. He didn't want to continue, risk the tears from falling and flooding over his lap.

" _Im scared, Dream_."

George could hear as the other's breath hitched. Dream had slowly reached over and taken his hand, something he seemed to do frequently. It must have been a comfort for him.

"I can't give you what you need. You need someone to.. to grow old with. You need someone to get all smelly and senile with.. and I can't." George had laughed quietly, but it was sad and broken in his throat.

"George- I don't care if you can't.. live _my_ life out with me. I just want to live _your_ life out with you." Dream finally answered, hushed just above a whisper. Maybe that was cheesy, extremely cheesy and gross but it was true.

It was an uncomfortable position, but George had somehow leaned over the center consol of the car and hugged Dream. He had his arms wrapped around his side with his head buried into his shoulder, and Dream didn't hesitate to hold onto him as well.

The weird placement of the situation had made them giggle, and it felt like everything was okay again.

"I'm so sorry, for everything. Not telling you.. and then lying, hurting you. Sapnap is gonna beat my ass, he looked pissed." George mumbled into the sweatshirt, earning a laugh from Dream.

"I'm just.. glad we figured it out. I was worried, i thought that I- I thought I fucked up and did something."

George only shook his head, a wistful sound as his response.

George had checked out of the hotel and brought all his stuff back to the car, crawling into the backseat with Bad.

Sapnap still looked somewhat uncomfortable, but it was a lot better than before. He had said something to George about killing him if he hurt Dream again, to which George said something like "Already gonna happen in a few months, just quicken my fate" which seemed to shut him up.

The ride back home was pretty quiet, just some light music playing to make up for the silence that had them all hanging their heads.

Once they'd gotten back home, they decided to just stay in for the day. Tomorrow morning everyone would be going home.

It would be nice to get some alone time, but there was no going back once they had gone back home. And that scared George.

Of course there was time to go back after a few weeks maybe, but did George even have that long? Anything could happen.

The topic had been brought up of George moving to America, to spend his last few months, but it seemed too overwhelming to really think on.

"I don't want to leave," Bad whined, shoveling a hand of popcorn into his mouth.

They were all sat on the couch and watching a movie.

"Me either" Sapnap and George said in unison, giggling at each other.

It wasn't a secret that everyone was worried about George. The thought of him leaving them for _good_ had stuck in their minds the whole time they've known.

He was getting more fragile, more tired. That was another reason they decided to stay in today. Because George was too tired to do anything.

Dream was the only one who had streamed since last time, explaining to fans that the others were too busy and didn't have any time to set up a computer while they were there.

George wasn't sure if he even wanted to stream or make videos anymore. People would notice his appearance. They would notice, and they would get worried, and George didn't want that. Oh, and he would probably be in the hospital soon.

"I'm gonna miss you guys. So much." George smiled, tears starting to well up in his eyes. He hadn't even told his mom, his family.

Dream had grabbed onto George's hand and ran his thumb along his knuckles, smiling down at him in reassurance.

The others nodded in agreement and sighed. It felt like summer was coming to an end, it felt like the day before school would be starting again. It felt like a Sunday, with that dreadful feeling you get when you realize you have to go back to school or work the next day.

Dream grabbed George and hugged him, resting his head on his shoulder. George began hugging back, but it was too much and his hand had dropped limp, along with his head.

"George?" Dream whispered, shaking him slightly.

"George? George wake up," He repeated, his voice strained in a panic.

"Fuck! Someone call 911!"

-

Maybe it was selfish, maybe it was incredibly selfish, but Dream had been somewhat glad to an extent that George had fainted. Well, he _was_ glad until he had to watch as a tube was shoved down his throat. He _was_ glad until he watched a scarily large IV being pushed into his small, dehydrated vein. He _was_ glad until he heard the doctors shouting and was ripped away from George.

Because George would get to stay longer. But now, he cursed himself for even thinking it was a good thing at all.

George had been unconscious for the past day, and Dream stayed with him every second he could. Sapnap canceled his flight, but Badcouldn't stay, so he had flown back home early. It was too hard for him to see his friend in a state like that. Was he weak for it? Possibly, but nobody blamed him.

Dream had put a headphone in George's left ear, playing the song _Turning Page_ for him every few hours in case he would wake up afraid, he wanted a pretty song for him to wake up to.

Sapnap got Dream the food and water he needed. Dream was currently sitting in a chair next to the bed, his head resting on George's leg as he held onto his hand.

"Wake up, wake up please. George wake up.. wake up." he whispered repeatedly.

"Dream?" George questioned quietly, looking around the room.

Dream shot up and gasped, looking over to Sapnap who had been smiling.

"Oh god George you scared the shit out of me! Don't ever- don't do that again. Please. You can't die on me." Dream said quickly, inhaling sharply with a hollow chuckle.

If George had looked bad before, he looked like death now. His skin was a sickly yellow and his lips were an impossibly pale white color. It was scary, for all of them.

"I'm sorry," George whispered, squeezing onto Dream's hand with the little strength he could muster.

Sapnap had ran out to get a nurse, who soon came in with a hopeful smile.

"Glad to see you're up George. How are you feeling?" She had asked, placing a pulse oximeter on his finger and checking vitals.

George knitted his brows and pulled at the clear tubing that sat in his nose, shrugging at the girl.

"Could be better, but fine," he laughed, which only triggered a violent cough into his elbow.

"I'm gonna take some blood, is that alright?"

George nods and sighs heavily, letting her stick into his arm and pull a tube or two of blood.

She had said something about checking back in a few hours and then left, leaving the three to talk.

"What happened? Can we get out of here soon?" He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes softly with his knuckles.

"George," Dream started, pulling his lips into a thin line.

"You have to stay here. You're not.. you're not healthy enough. They want to keep you here."

"What? No, I have to go back home." George stated firmly, his lip quivering slightly.

He had to see his cat(who his brother had been babysitting), tell his mom what happened, say goodbye to all his friends. He needed to pack his clothes and get everything he needed.

"George you're sick."

"You think I don't know that?" He snapped back, scoffing and tearing his eyes away.

George knew he wouldn't be going home. He was too sick, it was time to settle into the hospital and get ready to stay for a while, or even until he dies.

He swallows thickly and shuts his eyes, rubbing a hand on his temple.

Dream had been desperately trying to hold tears back as he bounced his leg nervously, shifting his eyes to the heart monitor.

He watched as the graph had spiked a bit, signifying that George's heart rate had bounced up.

He squeezed onto George's hand a few times, which seemed to calm him down.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how you feel, I don't know.. what kind of pain you're in. But I love you, and I want you to be safe. Please just stay here. I need you to stay here." 

He had been reluctant to say _I love you,_ afraid if may be crossing a line from what happened earlier.

George slowly nodded, and they sat in mostly silence until the nurse had come back in.

"It's getting late, there's a hotel not too far. I suggest you two go get some rest." She had said, in which Dream replied that he had to stay and that he could sleep in the chair.

Sapnap grabbed his things and agreed to give the two alone time and left to get a room at the hotel.

"There's channels and movies on the tv, the remote is sitting on in the bed railing." She checked vitals once more before wishing them a good night, telling them to click the page button if they needed anything.

Once she had left, Dream stood up and began crawling into the small bed with George.

"Now I'm going to lay in this bed with you and hold you, because that's what I would want if I was sick in a cold hospital bed." He said softly, George nodding and giggling at the cute boy.

And that's what he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I can’t write relationship angst lol  
> I was gonna have them not make up but it kinda just came =^-^=
> 
> I wanna kill him off so bad. But I still have plans. Y’all get ready, the chapters won’t keep ending happily


	10. All Through The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All through the night  
> I'll be awake and I'll be with you  
> All through the night  
> This precious time when time is new

George had decided that he would tell everyone.

He first called his mom. Begged her to stay calm and not cry, because he didn't think he'd be able to handle the heart wrenching scream that came from the other side of the phone.

He then decided to post a video to YouTube.

Dream had left the room to go get some dinner for the two from the cafeteria, so he decided now would be an okay time.

He pulled his phone out and flipped to the front facing camera, and started recording.

"Hi guys uhm. I didn't think I would ever have to be making a video like this," he paused, biting his lip and looking off to the side.

There was still tubes up his nose. He looked like absolute shit in his white and blue gown, no surprise there.

"I have some bad news, that I wanted to tell you all. I have.." he paused for a second. This was gonna be hard.

"I have cancer. And, I'm- I'm not gonna be here, for as long as I thought I would. I just want to say that.. that this journey, has been amazing with all of you." His eyebrows tilted up as he frowned, wiping a tear from his cheek before continuing.

"I wanted to thank every single one of my fans. I may not know you individually, but you have all, together made my life so much better. I don't.." George had began gasping quietly as he cried into his hand, trying to compose himself to continue the video. He didn't plan on editing it at all, just record and post.

"I don't want any of you to cry for me. I know this is bad news, but- but it's going to be okay. I'm.." He couldn't help the sob that broke from his lips. It crackled through the room with a heavy echo. He set the camera down and began sobbing into his hands quietly, hiccuping and sniffling for only 20 or 30 seconds before picking the phone back up.

"My final message to the world is- just, live. live your life because you have to chance to be here. Goodbye, everyone." He quickly stopped recording and broke down into a sob again, pulling his knees up to his chest in the bed.

Why did it have to be him? It felt like the whole world had just turned and stomped on him.

What are the odds for someone his age to get _leukemia_?

George had been trying to muffle himself, but it was still loud and probably leaked out of the room.

He had hit the button on his remote as he gasped, holding at his chest and continuing to cry into his hands.

A nurse came in and quickly noticed his odd breathing, trying to calm George down. She laid him back down on the bed and managed to get his breathing to calm, but he had felt dizzy and was choking for air.

"I'm gonna go ahead and check your blood pressure, alright? You're okay, George."

She had said something about his blood pressure being a bit low and called another nurse in, who brought in a cart with various drawers.

"I'm gonna take a listen real quick," she said as she pulled out a stethoscope and began listening to George's heart.

"Can you take some deep breaths for me?"

"George, open your eyes for me. Are you doing okay?"

“George, come on buddy I need you to open your eyes!”  
  


No response

"His pulse is weak, go ahead and start chest compressions, I'm gonna call a code."

Dream had walked in as they began placing pads on his body and putting a mask over his mouth.

"What's happening? What happened?" He asked, staying back to not disrupt them, though his eyes were wide with worry.

He hadn't been answered, instead just more shouting coming from the nurses as they had pulled out a defibrillator and placed it on his chest.

"Come on George, stay with us. Charge 200, stay clear !”

This had went on for a bit longer before he had finally been stable again. Dream didn't know what happened, he was too distracted and on edge to be able to listen.

A nurse had stayed in the room while George was gaining consciousness again.

"Hey, you feeling better? You crashed a little when I last came in." She said softly, as to not scare him as he woke up.

George had taken in a long, shaky breath.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, still a bit shaken from previous events.

"You went into a sudden cardiac arrest, just needed to jump your heart back up. You're okay." She said this slowly to not frighten him, and he ended up being a little too understanding for Dream's liking.

"Is it gonna happen again?" Dream asked, and the nurse only said that she didn't know.

"It's likely, for cancer patients to go into cardiac arrest. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again,"

Dream chewed on his lip anxiously, nodding as the nurse left the room.

George hadn’t really looked at his room since he’d been there. Sure, he noticed the things like the tv, machines, and disgustingly clean walls, but he’d be staying here a while, and he wanted to know what his life room consisted of.

There had been bundles of cords scattered on the floor and around his bed, a food tray that could swing over the bed, a comfy chair in the corner of the room, and another plastic chair next to the bed that Dream sat in.

They gave him a little plastic cup that had measurement ticks engraved in it, with a cool grey lid with a cool bendy straw.

That was it.

This is what his life consisted of.

And it made him realize something. He didn’t want to fight this- he didn’t want to do this. It was hard. He almost died just now, and the only thing that saved him was what? Some big electric thingy that shocked his chest?

He didn’t even know what happened, and he didn’t care.

He didn’t want to fight anymore than he already was, and the decision was made.

—

"I want to sign a dnr." Is what he had said, immediately when a nurse had come in to take his blood pressure.

The nurse nodded slowly, and Dream looked to her with confusion.

She glanced to Dream and opened her mouth, pausing for a second before beginning to leave the room.

"I'm gonna call a doctor in to discuss that with you, excuse me just a moment,"

Once she had left, Dream came and sat back down next to George.

"What is a dnr?"

"Im signing a do not resuscitate form."

"What the fuck? No, no you can't." He stated, knitting his brows close together.

“Yes, I can. And I will! I can’t do this Dream. I almost just died a bit ago, didn’t I? If it happens again, let me go.” George said this calmly, wiggling to lay down further into the bed.

“No. You’re not signing that damn form.” Dream growled, slamming his fist down onto the bed.

“You’re insane! You have to fight this, I’m not letting you sign it.” He sounded demanding, his voice stern and quite frightening for George.

George had shook lightly, a fearful glint in his eye as he scooted himself away from Dream’s fist on the bed.

“I don’t expect you to understand, but I’m signing it.” He whispered, Dream faltering and drawing his hand back to his lap.

“God, George!” Dream leaned his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. He began breathing shakily, small dark blotches appearing on his pants.

“I’m in pain Dream! You even said it yourself! You don’t know what I feel, and I will tell you EXACTLY what It’s like! My head hurts- constantly! I’m- Im so, so tired. My bones ache, it hurts, Dream!”

George had also began tearing up, taking a breath and wiping his eyes before continuing.

“I can’t breathe. I’m never hungry anymore and my stomach- oh my god, my stomach! I’ve lost what, 30 pounds? It’s- it’s-”

George put his hand over his eyes, hiding the tears that had slipped down his face once again.

He toned out whatever Dream had been saying, grabbing his phone and logging into his YouTube account.

He just needed any kind of distraction.

He uploaded the video without looking at it again, and once it had finished, an alert dinged on Dream’s phone.

He looked down to his phone, giving a questioning look to George.

“Don’t watch it. Not with me.”

“George. It says ‘Final Goodbye’.”

“I can read,” George had continued wiping his eyes, sniffling into his arm.

Dream didn’t answer, just hung his head in defeat. He wouldn’t be able to change George’s mind and he knew that.

A doctor had come in. Perfect timing.

He pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, getting comfortable.

“So, George. I’ve been told you wanted to speak about signing a do not resuscitate order.”

They had spoken about George’s wishes, Dream quietly begging him to back out. It didn’t work.

George would now no longer be saved if he had stopped breathing, and it brought him a relief that let him relax his muscles and smile.

It was nice.

Dream decided he was going to go get dinner in the cafeteria. He needed some time to just think, get away from the sadness and guilt he felt for every second he spent in that room.

The doctor stayed in the room with George for a while longer, just discussing some other things to get him more comfortable.

“You and uh-“

“Dream?”

“Yes, you and Dream, are you guys..?” The doctor had smiled, the suggestion making George’s face heat up.

“Oh no- no I.. well, we aren’t together or anything. But he’s- he’s like, he’s my-“ George stammered, the heat tingling at his cheeks as he pondered what to say.

“He’s everything, he’s my tomorrow.” George whispered, smiling to himself. He wasn’t mad. He couldn’t be mad, Dream cared for him so deeply and showed it, you can’t be mad at that.

Dream had been standing outside the door, listening in to the small fragment of the conversation. His heart leaped about in his chest, hearing what George was saying.

But it also broke his heart. George was going to be gone soon and Dream didn’t know what he would do.

He walked in and cleared his throat, slowly sinking back down into the chair. The doctor had gotten up and explained he was just leaving, and shut the blinds on the room windows before exiting and shutting the door.

George snickered into his hand, his face reddening even more than it had been before.

“Dream?” George asked shyly, testing to see if Dream was still upset with him. Of course he was, he’d basically just signed away his only chance at life if something happened.

But if Dream was still mad, he didn’t show it. Because his heart swelled at the fact that he was George’s tomorrow. It made him realize just how much George meant to him, just how much he loved him. And just how much he needed to do before he was gone.

He put on a smile and looked up to George with a hum.

“Can you kiss me? Please?” He pleaded with a bashful smile, eyeing the closed blinds and opening his arms a bit.

Dream climbed up into the bed and hovered over him, grinning down at George who wriggled under the stare.

He leaned down slowly, his hot breath teasing George until he had just grabbed onto Dream’s shirt and yanked him down to close the gap.

Dream’s lips had been a lot softer than their last kiss. They were warm and still tasted of the same cherry chapstick that George loved so much.

George had to pull away more frequently, but as soon as Dream would get worried, he would link their lips again.

They were now laying in each other’s arms on the bed, Dream playing with George’s fingers while he kissed his knuckles. A Disney movie was playing in the background, not too loud.

“How long?” Dream asked in between kisses, earning a confused noise from George.

“How long have you.. had feelings? For me.”

George shifted nervously, feeling exposed. As if they hadn’t just made out for like 15 minutes straight.

“Long time,” he whispered, wrapping his fingers around Dream’s way-too-big hand.

It was getting late, getting a bit dark out as the sun escaped behind the trees that they could see out of the small hospital window.

George was tired, it was obvious. He was always tired. But they had fallen asleep together, not worrying about what the nurses might think when they come in to check vitals.

Not worrying about how they might scold them, because it didn’t matter.

-

Dream was the first to wake up. He slid out of the bed, thankful that no one had disturbed them.

The first thing he noticed was how George’s phone seemed to be blowing up- oh right, the video.

He pulled his own phone out and sat back down in the plastic chair, deciding to watch the short video George had posted the other day.

The way he had set the phone down to sob in the video was horrible, they were pained and broken, and how he had to stop and look away before continuing on was absolutely dreadful.

He looked over to the side table and grabbed George’s phone, seeing all of his friends texting him for answers on what happened.

He set both phones down and leaned back in the chair, waiting for George to wake up.

-

3 and a half weeks passed, and everyone was extremely grateful that nothing bad had happened. Even George. He was more cheerful, not much, but he was.

Because sapnap had continued visiting, and Dream had kept by his side to keep him busy(well, busy enough for being in a hospital).

Sapnap had been taking care of patches back at Dream’s house and giving her attention on the days that Dream and George wanted to be alone.

George’s mother would be visiting soon, too. She had a flight booked for 4 days ahead, and he was eager to be able to finally see his mother again.

Dream asked George to be his boyfriend, and he had obviously accepted. It was sweet, Dream rushed into the room with a bouquet of cornflowers and blue dyed roses after going out in the rain, dripping wet and panting with his coat on.

That’s when he had asked, and George’s smile was the biggest it had ever been.

But now there was something bigger on Dream’s mind. And it was soon, it was so soon. Too soon. But time wasn’t really a thing when there wasn’t much of it left to begin with.

So Dream pulled Sapnap into the hallway, discussed his plan, and a loud “HELL YEAH!” Sounded from him.

George was confused. But that confusion quickly vanished when Dream had walked back in with his hand behind his back, kneeling down next to the bed.

“George?”

He pulled a velvet black box from behind him and opened it to a small golden band.

The boy’s eyes widened as he gasped, clasping both hands over his mouth.

“Shut up!” George whispered, tears already beginning to slip down his cheeks.

“I know this is soon, and it’s not going to be easy. This is gonna be hard- really hard. But I want to try, and I want us to fight because I want you. And I _only_ want you. All of you. Every day, I want _you_.”

George stayed silent, his eyes still wide as Dream continued on.

“I love how your eyes crease when you smile, and how your nose wrinkles up when you’re concentrating on something. I love the small noises you make when something catches you by surprise, and I- I _don’t_ like how you hum that same song without realizing every time I’m laying next to you. But I can learn to love it, because every part of you.. is absolute perfection. It’s you, George. It’s always been you. So please. _Be my person._ ”

George only stared in shock, unable to move. Dream had began getting worried, nervously eyeing Sapnap who stood by the doorway.

“George..? Blink once for yes and blink twice for no..?”

George’s mouth quickly twisted into a wide grin as he blinked once, more tears spilling as he sat up and swung his legs over the bed, falling to the floor and into Dream’s arms. The tubes had just barely reached where he was, so Dream held onto him and they hugged, Dream kissing George’s cheek softly.

Dream knew he should have noticed something was wrong when George’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he had fallen into his arms, but he was so, incredible happy in the moment, he thought it was fine.

But it wasn’t.

Because that’s it. That’s when George stopped breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry too much yet, this isn’t the last chapter. 
> 
> Yes Dream is proposing. Yes it is because he wants to let George get married and have the happiest day of his life. And also because he loves him, but still.
> 
> My advice is to not propose after a few weeks, but if you know, you know :D


	11. Everywhere I Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danger will follow me now  
> Everywhere I go  
> Angels will call on me  
> And take me to my home  
> Well, these tired eyes just want to remain closed

“No- no no, no George. No! Wake up!"

He cursed and laid George on the floor, yelling at Sapnap to get someone.

He leaned over and began pushing his hands against George's chest, using as much strength as he could to give him CPR while nurses walked in. 

"Help him!" Dream cried out as he continued, but they only stood there and informed him that George had signed a do not resuscitate form.

_I know that you fucking morons!_

He wanted to shout, but that would help nothing.

"No! You have to help him! _Why aren't you helping him!?_ HELP HIM!"

The nurses had looked back and fourth between each other before they sighed and raced to George's side, pulling Dream away and beginning to try and revive him. Dream knew they were going against the rules, and he was so incredibly thankful.

Someone had brought a cart in, and Dream stood back with Sapnap as they tried their hardest.

Dream couldn't look at George, he instead buried his head into his friend's chest and prayed to whoever was out there that George would be okay. He was scared, so scared.

He needed to marry George, he needed to have a wedding and make his last days the happiest he could. This was not good. This was not happy.

He had hid in Sapnap's chest as they took George, he didn't pay attention to anything they had done. He tuned out the hushed shouting and the noises of machines.

After a while, Sapnap had brought Dream out into the cafeteria and sat him down. Dream didn't move though, he laid with his head against the table and just thought.

Sapnap brought some food, but Dream didn't budge to eat anything.

They waited, and waited, and waited until someone had gotten them and said George was stable once again.

It felt like days in the cafeteria, sitting there while people came in and out. Though it had been only a few hours, at most. They all had loved ones in the hospital, too.

Dream thought that maybe he was being unfair. Not only to the people around him, but himself. If everyone else could remain okay on the outside, he could too. But he didn't.

When they walked back into the room, George was wide awake and alert, he seemed nervous and.. angry? He looked upset.

When his eyes met Dream's, it was a glare that sent chills down his back.

"Get out." George said softly, not letting his eyes away from Dream.

"What? George-? You're okay!"

"I said get the _fuck_ out!" George had now sat up and jabbed his finger to the door, his heart aggressively beating against his chest.

Dream was confused. Very much confused. He looked to Sapnap for help, but he just shrugged with an equal confusion.

Dream left the room with a hurt expression, slinking down next to the door outside the room.

Sapnap had stayed to test if George would be mad, and he still looked a bit aggravated, but allowed Sapnap to sit down on the bed next to him.

"Are you alright?" Sapnap whispered, George immediately shaking his head.

"He let them fix me, didn't he?"he whispered back, leaning into the bed and relaxing a bit.

Sapnap nodded and began to open his mouth, but he was cut off.

"Sapnap I'm tired! How many times has this happened? I can't keep doing it!" George had closed his eyes, gripping onto the railing of the bed with white knuckles.

"George he _proposed_. He wants to marry you- he NEEDS to marry you! You can't go yet, you aren't ready." Sapnap looked sympathetic, but had a sternness in his voice.

George only held his head in his hands and nodded slowly. That's right- Dream proposed. He didn't remember, but now that Sapnap reminded him, he had started smiling without realizing.

Sapnap grinned seeing George's face, squeezing onto his leg in a reassurance.

"It's not time yet. I have to see you walk down the isle with a big poofy dress. I have to catch the bouquet, Miss Georgie~" he teased, earning a weak laugh from the other.

"Think I could get _Dream_ to be the one to wear a dress? Pull the cancer card?" George started coughing before letting his head fall to the pillow. Sapnap's eyes widened and grabbed onto George's shoulders, getting ready to call for a nurse.

George sat back up and laughed, whispering a " _it works_!"

"What the fuck! I hate you! Do _not_ do that to him." Sapnap's worry had faded into laughter as well, and they both just sat there and giggled despite how fucked up it was.

George wanted to forgive Dream, he really did. And it felt extremely selfish to not forgive him, because Dream had only wanted to save his love from death. But that's not what George wanted.

So he let his stomach swirl and ache with a guilty anger. Because he couldn't forgive Dream.

He took something away from him, and in the moment, it felt so big, so horribly wrong.

"My mum is gonna want to plan the wedding," George said quietly after a while, playing with his thumbs.

"She's coming?"

"Yeah, in a few days. She wanted to come the second I told her about.. everything. There wasn't any flights until now that she could get, though."

"Am I finally gonna meet George's mommyyyy?" Sapnap smiled as George just rolled his eyes.

"I guess. Under circumstances I wish were different, though." George sighed, and Sapnap shook his head.

"No, no. Good circumstances. You're getting married. Don't think about this stupid cancer. Think about- think about Dream, think about you!"

George beamed, a genuinely happy smile. Although the was upset at Dream, he loved him. And that made him remember that he cursed Dream out of the room-

"How long has it been? Since he left?"

"Uhh.." Sapnap looked down to his phone and frowned.

"3 hours, are you ready for him to come back?"

"I- I don't know," George whispered, sinking back away into the safety of his bedsheets.

"I can't forgive him, sap. I can't. He took something away from me."

"No, George. He gave it _back_ to you." Sapnap gave an encouraging smile, George nodding in an understanding.

"Maybe tomorrow. Can you- can you stay with me? Just for tonight," George asked shyly, continuing to play with his thumbs.

"Course Gogy. Let me talk to Dream, I can grab some food while I'm out with him. Okay?"

George nodded and turned the tv on to a random movie while Sapnap left.

When Sapnap had shut the door, he knelt down to wake up the sleeping Dream that was slumped by the door.

"Hey, Dream, wake up."

Dream groaned quietly and stirred, looking up at Sapnap who held his hand out to help him stand.

"I'm staying with George tonight, you need to go back to your house and get some rest. Patches misses you."

This made Dream frown, standing while Sapnap patted his back and lead him out.

"He doesn't- want to see me anymore, right? It's over?" Dream stopped before he left, turning back to Sapnap.

"No. No. He wants to marry you. He loves you, he just needs tonight. I'll call you, okay?" He hadn't waited for a response before starting to go back to George's room, leaving Dream to return home.

"How is he?" George asked, turning the tv off and setting the remote by his side.

"He'll be okay. Big strong Dream can be away from you for one night," Sapnap chuckled, sitting down in the chair next to George.

That same ache in his core told him he should have forgiven Dream, make up and just forget about it. Because he would have done the exact same if it was Dream in his situation-

But he needed to be alone, just think about things.

The bed felt cold without Dream, the small bed that could barely fit the two and brought them absurdly close.

George grabbed onto Sapnap's hand, something that Dream had done to him for comfort.

"Can you be the flower girl? Screw being best man."

Sapnap laughed and nodded rubbing George's hand.

"You know I love you, right? You and Dream are like my brothers. You mean everything to me, just.. let me know if I can do anything, alright?"

George nodded and continued holding onto Sapnap's hand as he hummed himself to sleep. Only to be waken a few hours later for another arm poke. Curse these nurses and their need to stab.

-

"Can you go down to the cafeteria fans get us a snack or something? They have some good ice cream," George suggested with a smile. He didn't actually want ice cream, just some alone time.

Sapnap agreed and left the room, thankfully shutting the door behind him.

George sighed and reached for his phone, going to his contacts and hovering over Dream's name.

It was noon the next day, and he hadn't gotten any texts or calls from Dream. He had expected at least a good morning, maybe an _i miss you._ Possibly he was upset with George? For yelling at him? Of course he would be.

Anything to do with confrontation was a no-go for George. He did _not_ have the confidence. But still, he wanted his Dream back.

He grumbled and jabbed the call button, pressing the phone to his ear with a nervous breath.

The phone answered after a few rings to a very tired sounding Dream.

"Hello..?"

"Hi Dream."

George heard movement from the phone, assuming Dream had sat up.

"How are you feeling?" Dream mumbled and yawned(which George silently awed at)

"Cold," George whispered, gripping onto the phone a bit harder than before.

"I'm sorry, George. I'm really sorry I'm-"

"Just- shut up. Okay? Shut up. I only called to check in. Bye Dream," George quickly hung up and threw his phone back onto the small table with an annoyed groan. That didn't go to plan.

He really, really just needed to stay away from Dream for a while. He sounded pathetic.

Sapnap walked back in with a cup of ice cream, setting it down on the tray next to the bed.

"Wasn't hungry." Sapnap muttered, sitting down at the chair.

"Yeah, me either."

"Called Dream?"

"How did y-"

"Do you not want him back yet?"

"No. I don't wanna see him. I can't see him- I- I miss him, but I can't. I want this wedding, I want to make him happy. But I can't." George knew he was word vomiting, his words coming out too fast and resulting him in taking a small gasp of air when he finished.

"You don't want it anymore?" Sapnap was a bit lost. He knew George didn't want to be saved, but it sounded like, maybe, he really just wanted to die already. Like he was hoping for it.

And he was. Deep down somewhere, he really hoped he would just stop breathing again, while Dream was gone. That was the reason he didn't want Dream back. Because he wanted to die, and they wouldn't resuscitate him this time.

"I do. I have time. I just- I just need time, I need time to think and make a plan and.. and- I don't know! I'm nervous! I don't want to ruin it. I really love him, you know? I never thought I would be getting married. Especially now. With- with Dream! With Dre-"

"Dude calm down. You're like, panting." Sapnap had cut him off with an amused expression, watching as George breathed heavily from the rambling.

He laughed and nodded, deciding he should probably eat the ice cream to keep his glucose levels up.

-

"Georgie? Georgie!" A short woman with shoulder length brown hair had rushed into the room with a bundle of cards, quickly setting them on a table and going to hug her son.

"Mum? I just sent an Uber for you-"

"Oh don't worry about that, I got here early and came as soon as I could! You look horrible, George."

It was still only Sapnap with him. He refused to let Dream come back, though they had texted a bit to check on each other. George was starting to think maybe, he was almost ready to see Dream again. The feeling hadn't gone away though, he still had a sick hope bubbling up that he would slip away while they were sleeping.

"Yeah, I have cancer."

They had sat in a silence, Sapnap clearing his throat and standing up with his hand outstretched.

"Hi, miss Davidson. I'm Sapnap."

They shook hands and the woman laughed,

"What's your real name?" She asked, earning a tilt of Sapnap's head.

"That's my name, not even shitting you."

"Oh- well, I'm Olivia. Nice to meet you... Sapnap."

George giggled at the awkward interaction, pulling his mother by her hand to sit on the bed with him.

"I have news, mum."

Olivia hummed in response, watching as George's lips pulled into a big grin.

"I'm getting married!"

"Yeah if you actually see him again. You need to get him back, George!" Sapnap frowned, backing off when George sent a glare to him.

"You're what? What did you say?" Olivia looked like she was about to burst, failing miserably to hold in the huge smile that spread across her whole face.

George nodded, sending his mother flying into his arms and saying things about how she had to get to planning immediately, meet the lucky partner, get him the perfect suit.

George sent a look to Sapnap that said " _told you_ " and they all laughed.

While George's mother sat in a chair that stood in the corner of room looking at flower services to find the perfect flowers, George had wondered if maybe he should call Dream and ask if he wanted to come back.

"When are you guys wanting to marry?" Olivia asked, pulling the glasses from her face and putting them in her lap.

"As soon as possible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry ik y’all thought he done died last chapter but I gotta keep you on your toes somehow, don’t I? 🙄
> 
> I’m thinking I’ll do just a few more chapters, get them married and then POOF dead lol
> 
> If George decides to let Dream come back, that is >:D


	12. Already Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know that I love you so  
> I love you enough to let you go

“Okay, so I went out and got a few suits- you need the perfect one, so try all these on and come out and show me. Okay?" Olivia had sat 4 different suits on the bed, along with about 7 ties.

So obnoxious.

George had a hard time convincing her, but the nurse had unhooked some cords to let him Into the bathroom without getting all tangled up.

He came out with each suit, getting more annoyed with each one.

"Mum- they look the _exact_ same." He sighed and threw all the suits back on the bed while he sat down.

"No they don't! Look this one is a bit lighter, this one- this one has different fabric, this-"

"Mum! Just- this one. This one is fine." George forced a smile to try and be appreciative, but he honestly just wanted his mom gone as soon as she came.

"Are you sure? I just want you to have the most perfect day."

"Yes. Yes I'm sure."

George looked over at Sapnap, who just smiled innocently. What an arse.

George shooed his mother away, requesting she go to the hotel to finish her planning. He made an excuse that visiting times were over, which seemed to work, but just barely.

When he was alone again with Sapnap, he let out a long, exaggerated sigh of relief and let his muscles release from the tense hold that kept him stiff.

It had been 4 days, maybe it was time. Maybe George could convince himself to let Dream come back.

He picked up his phone, and called Dream.

"Hey Geor-"

"I need you to come back, okay? So we can get married. I need to marry you. Soon. Like, in a few days. Please." George cut Dream off, not even saying a hello because who has time for that?

But George was smiling, a big cheesy grin because he was happy, he was excited to be calling Dream and telling him to come back. He was excited to get married and love Dream.

"What? Okay I'll um, I'll be there in a bit."

Dream hung up. He didn't sound amazing, he sounded tired, bored maybe, and it made George bite at his nails. Did Dream hate him now?

"Sap he hates me!" George whisper shouted, crossing his arms. Obviously it was an overreaction, but he really wouldn't be surprised.

"No he doesn't, you're insane. I mean- you did yell at him to leave and then didn't let him come back for what- 4 days? I'm sure it's fine." Sapnap tried to give a comforting smile, but it didn't help.

George was anxious, he felt awkward like, maybe he wouldn't know what to say.

Dream was his fiancé, right? That's how it works? So there’s no reason to be nervous.

Soon enough, Dream had knocked and walked into the room.

"Hi" he said, glancing to George carefully, scared he may get chewed out or shouted at.

"Hey," George had replied barely over a whisper, forcing himself to stare down at his fingers to avoid Dream's eyes.

Dream had slowly walked over, sat on the bed, and pulled George into his lap. This made George squeal in surprise, wrapping his arms around Dream's neck so he wouldn't fall.

Sapnap took the hint and left the room, winking at them before leaving.

George was still looking away, biting his lip while deciding on what he should say.

"George," Dream whispered, putting his thumb on George's chin and making him look at him. Mission failed successfully I guess, because George still didn't meet his eyes.

"My mom came, she's planning things. I have a suit."

"I was hoping you'd wear a big pink princess dress," Dream fake pouted, making George laugh quietly.

"We're gonna get married and then.. I'm gonna leave you. And you can't save me, okay? You can't. So if you... don't want to do this, tell me now." George finally looked into Dream's eyes, pulling himself closer by just a bit.

"I'll be okay, that doesn't matter. _You_ are what matters, I want you to have the best life _you_ can. I love you, and I'm _so_ sorry, but it wasn't time."

George grumbled, digging his nose into Dream's shoulder. He breathed in the lavender scent and cologne that clung to the sweatshirt and felt himself ease. This was what he needed, he needed Dream and only Dream.

"It wasn't time." George repeated quietly, muffled into the sweatshirt.

He felt as the deep longing had began to leave his chest, perhaps all he needed was a reassurance that things would be okay. He knew they wouldn't, but hearing that it would be was just so much better.

Maybe it was only a temporary thing. Wanting to die so badly, so badly that he almost thought he could never forgive the person he loves for saving his life.

The truth is that George didn't forgive Dream yet. Not fully, at least.

And that was stupid, because he _really_ wanted to. He was getting there, he would get there. 

To distract himself from the uncomfortable feeling forming in his stomach, he had reached up and placed his lips against Dream's.

His lips were cold, which surprised Dream a bit. It was short and sweet, both of them pulling away with soft smiles.

"Let's get married tomorrow. It doesn't have to be big, did your mom already plan everything?" Dream whispered into George's ear, still holding him close.

"Tomorrow..?"

"Yeah, I'll warn you though, I have terrible memory. I'm gonna have to write my vows on my hand or something.." Dream chuckled, that breathy laugh that George had only heard a few times.

"It's okay, me too. Mum won't be too happy about it being tomorrow, but she'll live."

-

"Mum, this is Dream. Dream, this is my mum!" George waved to the both of them back and fourth, his mother immediately going in for a hug.

Dream enveloped the short woman, the both of them starting to talk and get along as soon as they pulled away.

"Olivia, very nice to meet you! You picked a handsome one, Georgie!"

George whined at the nickname, but nodded in agreement.

"He is, isn't he," He whispered, mostly to himself as his cheeks began heating up.

It felt childish to blush now, to get all hot and nervous, like when it was just a little secretive crush.

"We're marrying tomorrow," George said aloud, his mother turning to him with a ' _what did you just say_?' Type of look.

"You can cancel whatever is gonna take too long to be ready. We just- don't have time. It doesn't have to be big."

Olivia gasped and groaned very dramatically, starting to ramble on about how she would have to cancel everything and it wouldn't be perfect.

George, Dream, and Sapnap had only laughed at her, explaining how it would be perfect no matter what.

They weren't even planning on getting legally married, just a private little thing(which his mother absolutely hated).

-

Dream had asked George's doctor privately if he would be able to leave the hospital the next day, and thankfully he had agreed.

George was doing a little better, his heart rate had been high from nerves and excitement.

Sapnap and George's mom were back in their hotels, so it was just George and Dream in the room again.

"I can't believe we're getting married."

George remembered back to when he just had a simple crush on Dream, how it had gotten worse and worse to the point he felt guilt for every thought he had.

How his friends would tease him for the little blushes that brushed across his cheeks every time Dream made flirtatious comments.

How he wished and prayed that maybe someday he would have his Dream, and now it was a reality.

But it was too late, he would only have a bit of time. He didn't want to think about what it would do to Dream. Maybe he was just doing it because he had cancer.

Dream just felt bad, so he proposed to have a wedding he doesn't actually care about. That's it, right?

No, no. Not at all. Because George had seen the admiration in Dream's eyes when they kissed, the absolute infatuation shared between the two was sickening.

"Our honeymoon is gonna be spent in a hospital bed," Dream whispered with a suggestive tone, making George scoff and push his shoulder lightly.

"That's so gross! We can't- in a hospital bed- gross Dream!" George flustered and put his face into his hands, muttering something inaudible.

They decided it would be at the flower garden they all went to the first time. It was secluded and quiet, and the water fountain was a perfect place to declare their love for each other. They had told some friends, and they started driving to meet where they would be.

Bad, Sapnap, Skeppy, Karl, and a lot of Dream's family would go. George appreciated that they would be marrying so early, so the rest of his family wouldn't be able to come from the UK and embarrass him. Although they didn’t go without extreme scolding from friends at family for such a short notice.

George wasn't able to sleep much, too anxious and busy thinking about what he would say and worried over the fact that he absolutely cannot dance.

Dream would try to calm him down every time the monitor began beeping, but George would just hush him and tell him to go to sleep.

But George was still restless, moving and kicking his legs every few minutes, which eventually made Dream get up to leave the bed because holy fuck that's annoying.

"No!" George whined quietly, lazily reaching his hand out for Dream.

"George I need to sleep. You need to sleep. Please," he pleaded quietly, sitting back down on the bed with a tired hand on his face.

"I'm sorry I'm just excited!"

"Then go to sleep, or you'll be too tired to do anything tomorrow! It's already going to take a lot of your energy. Go to sleep."

"Sing to me,"

"What?" Dream scrunched his face and looked at George.

"I'm not singing to you."

George put out his lip and pouted, giving his best puppy dog eyes while whispering and elongated "pleeaaaasee?"

Dream only rolled his eyes and sat back in the bed with George, pulling him into his side and starting to hum the song George always did. Either hum or nothing, Dream did _not_ want to sing.

It was annoying, extremely annoying how George would hum every time he was with Dream. Like he couldn't get even a second of quietness.

But right now, it was comforting. Because he was comforting George and that felt nice. Quicker than expected, George's head relaxed and his eyes closed into a deep sleep.

-

"Dream! Dream wake up!" George shouted, an annoying look playing on his face as he shook Dream awake.

"Mm..tired.." He mumbled, stuffing his face back into the pillow while George groaned and continued shaking him aggressively.

"We have to get ready! Sapnap is gonna be here soon to help and my mom is already at the garden setting things up!"

This woke Dream up. He quickly sat up with wide eyes, sliding out of the bed and patting down his messy hair that George giggled at("Dream your hair!")

Sapnap had walked Into the room with a tray of breakfast for all of them, quickly setting it down and saying he would get a nurse to unhook all of George's tubes and such.

George laughed quietly to himself when he was free from everything, he felt like he could actually move around without worrying he'd rip out his IV or trip and splat on the floor.

The three of them put suits on, but George had started crying In the bathroom because he didn't know how to put his tie on.

When Dream came in and found him crying to himself in the mirror while trying to put his tie on, he snickered and received a slap on his arm.

"Ow! Hey let me help you! I didn't think you'd pick the pink one,"

"What? It's grey!"

This only made Dream laugh more, and George to whine and put a hand over his face.

When they'd came out, Sapnap took a picture and they both begged him to delete it. George with his glistening eyes and Dream wiping his face with his thumb, it was a cute picture. Kinda sad but whatever.

When it was time to leave, they checked out and George had to promise that he would be back when it was over with. Not like they would do anything, but he liked to think him and the doctor had a pretty good relationship going.

When they got there and were greeting their friends, George had realized he never even thought of writing down the vows he had prepared. Shit. Shit!

He grabbed Bad and dragged him away to behind a few trees, starting to freak out and wave his hands around.

"I don't remember my vows!"

"What? It's okay! Just tell him that you love him! Tell him what you feel." Bad wore a calm smile and patted George's back.

"I'm gonna freak out and forget everything! Oh god. Oh my god."

Skeppy had wandered over and asked what was happening, why George was flipping.

"I didn't write my vows! No- no it's okay. I'm okay. I'll just.. I'll figure it out! I'll figure it out." George was taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, but ended up getting lightheaded and had to hang onto Bad's shoulder.

Once they were back out from their hiding, George fully took a look at the place. There was a few white tables with food, a ridiculous chocolate cake, a small flower arch where they would stand, some wooden benches to sit at, and speakers in a clearing that they could dance at. And the beautiful fountain to the side that sparkled in the sunshine. That was the best part.

It was a sunny, hot, but perfect day. A lot of Dream's family was there, and the few friends they had invited.

As George stood there, he felt self conscious, he felt ugly and undeserving. He was just this little twig with sickly skin and exhausted eyes, while Dream may as well should've been a model or something.

But nobody cared about that.

"George." A small voice came from behind him. It was Dream's sister!

"Drista! Hi!" He said cheerfully, peering down at the girl who wore a simple t-shirt and sweats. This was funny to George, it made him smile a bit more at the informality.

"You look dead, dude. What's wrong with you?"

George's smile faltered a bit as he stepped back, rubbing at his arm.

Did Dream not tell anyone that he was sick? Or did Drista just think she needed to point it out?

"I uhm- thanks? I'm gonna go look for your brother, excuse me-" he quickly scanned his eyes around, landing on Dream and starting to walk to him.

"Does your family know?"

"Know what?"

George sighed with an unamused glare, tapping his foot lightly against the ground.

"Oh," Dream whispered, averting his eyes.

"They don't need to know. I don't want them to know. They won't see you as _George_ , they'll just see you as just some sick person that shouldn't be here. They'll see your cancer, not you."

George looked down with a frown, nodding slowly. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe Drista did know, she could have seen the video.

"Okay. Then let's get on with this, are your vows written on your palm?" George teased, trying to to lighten the suddenly gloomy air around them.

Dream chuckled nervously and shook his head, opening up his hand and turning it around a bit.

"Yeah, mine neither." George whispered while also opening his hand. That eased his nerves a bit, neither of them having anything to read off of and seeing Dream equally as nervous.

Everyone had sat down on the benches, chatting to each other and their friends meeting with Dream's family. George's mother had taken a liking to Sapnap, so she sat near him and they talked about everything that happened on their trip.

With one last deep breath, the two of them walked up to the small flower arch and looked out to the small crowd.

"Okay, so- We aren't.. legally marrying, or anything. And since this was pretty sudden and we only just now told everyone about our relationship, we're going to skip extra speeches. Thank you everyone for coming on such short notice, it means a lot that we got to do this before George-" Dream inhaled sharply and paused, shaking his head.

"We're just going to say our vows, kiss, and then eat. Because I'm hungry." Dream spoke with a light laugh, making a few others giggle along.

Sapnap had gotten up and grabbed a basket, skipping around and throwing the pedals everywhere with a mischievous smile. It was just a joke, but it made it all the more better. He then made his way up to stand next to George and Dream with the rings.

After a short pause, they turned to each other and nodded, George conquering his nerves and deciding to go first.

"Dream, I- I don't remember my vows very well, so I'm just gonna wing it and say the things that I do remember. I'm just going to be honest, because that's what I want. Honesty is.. it's so important, and I'm sorry that I've kept so much from you. I know it'll sound cheesy, but I want to love you even when I hate you. Even when we get into our dumb little arguments, even if I decide that I hate your guts, I will still love you." George smiled up to Dream, fiddling with the hem of his suit to calm himself.

"Today, I promise to give myself to you. My heart is in your hands, it has been for a while. I put barriers up, I built walls to keep myself from you. But you tore them down and I didn't bother trying to put them back up, because- Because your arms were so inviting, your gaze was so warm. I only hope that.. once I'm gone, you'll find someone who loves you like I do. Because loving you, let me open my eyes and realize that I was never crashing, I had only been set into flight. And for that, I owe you anything and everything." George let out a breath, grabbing onto Dream's shoulder and holding on so he wouldn't fall over. All that talking had made him lightheaded, but he nodded as an 'I'm okay'.

Dream put a hand on his waist to steady him while he smiled, losing himself in the thought of every word George had just poured out. He had only remembered to start his own vows when George tugged on his sleeve.

"I love you, George. And I know that's a given, because we're getting married. But that's something that- that I never really thought I would get to experience. Especially with my best friend!" He glanced over to Sapnap and stuck his tongue out, receiving a dramatic eye roll.

"I know that I'll never be finished loving you, and when the day comes, it's going to feel like I have nothing left. But I love you, I love you enough to let you go. Because I choose you, George. I choose your cold, shivered skin that slots with my warm hands every time I need comfort. I choose your small frame that is so easy to shelter when you're scared, and your intelligent mind that runs free with absolute brilliance. I choose you. And Im sorry for how long it took me to realize how marvelous you truly are."

They both had forgotten where they were, surrounded by their friends and family. It was just them. Just them standing and looking at each other with such loving eyes.

Sapnap nudged them slightly and gave them the rings, the both of them slipping the bands on each other's fingers.

Dream tilted George's chin up and kissed him, continuing to rest his other hand on his waist.

The other's had began cheering quietly, but it was tuned out as they shared their long, deep kiss.

Once they were finished, they smiled out to their friends and Dream shouted,

"Time for food!"

-

George and Dream were standing at the cake table, and although George felt he might puke if he ate anything, he let Dream put a spoon of the disgustingly rich cake into his mouth.

"Dream your face!" George said muffled with his hand over his mouth, giggling at the frosting smeared on Dream's forehead that he'd splattered previously with a flick of the spoon.

"Seriously? Karl came over with a playful roll of his eyes, laughing at the forehead frosting with George.

"Oh hey Karl!" George said quietly with a smile.

"Lots of surprises, huh? Dream face reveal, well- for me I guess. And you guys are.. getting married,"

George nodded, watching closely as Karl's face wore a sincere grin for the two.

Everyone had eaten food and made rounds talking to each other, played games, talked more, and eventually it had been getting dark. It was only nearing 6 pm, but it was still getting dark.

Which meant it was time to light candles.

George's mother set out candles by the fountain and on tables, lighting them while George complained to Dream about how his mother was doing everything by herself.

Once everything was ready, everyone looked at George and Dream expectantly, to which they yelled that they all needed to dance with them.

So they did.

Karl danced with Sapnap, and George watched as they blushed and nervously looked away from each other.

"Look at those two," He whispered to Dream, pointing the the other boys.

"Oh my god they're totally in love or something." Dream whispered back with a snicker before grabbing onto George's waist and pulling him to dance.

George felt anxiety pool up In his stomach as he slowly placed his hands on Dream’s shoulders, glancing down to his feet to make sure he wouldn’t step on his feet.

"Dream I can't dance!" He frowned, trying to pull back away.

"It's okay, just look at me. Look at me and follow what I do."

So George nodded and looked into Dream's eyes, taking a deep breath as they started to move.

Dream didn’t really know how to dance either. So they were both just kind of winging it and hoping for the best.

When Dream stepped forward with his left foot, George stepped back with his right. Dream stepped forward to the right, and George stepped back to the left.

Then they would slide their feet back to the starting position and laugh at each other every time they did it wrong, but it was light and made both of their nerves go away.

Once they decided they were finished with the boring slow dancing, George held onto Dream's hand, pulling him to the fountain and sitting on the ledge.

Dream sat down with him, thumbing George's jaw lightly before reaching down to kiss him again.

"I don't wanna go," George whispered, holding Dream's head close to his.

"I know, we can stay here a while longer th-"

"No. I mean- I mean I don't wanna _go_."

Dream frowned, resting his forehead against George's.(yes he wiped the frosting off)

“I know."

They sat on the ledge of the fountain for what seemed like hours, just enjoying each other's silent presence that seemed to be so comforting.

After a while longer, they had decided it was time to pack up, say goodbye to their friends and family, and go back to the hospital.

-

When Sapnap, George, Dream, and Olivia were back in the room, George had gotten hooked back up to whatever he had previously, and once he was set, Sapnap and Olivia agreed to go back to their hotel for the night. It was pretty late, after all.

When they were alone, Dream shut the blinds to the room and sat back down on the end of the bed. George gave him a questioning look before he pulled his phone out to sort through emails and bills. Not exciting, but it was important. He still had a living place back home that his brother was staying in to care for his cat.

"Dream. I can't focus when you're looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Dream whispered, smirking at George while he flustered and fumbled with his phone.

"Stop it. Stop. I'm paying bills."

"You can't save them for later? Spare time for your dearest husband?" He mocked George's accent, slowly crawling up the bed and snatching the phone.

"Dreaaam!" George whined and crossed his arms with a pout.

"Not only did you _mock_ me, you took m-"

Dream cut him off by yanking him lightly into a kiss. George mumbled a very quiet " _rude_ " into the kiss, though he was smiling happily.

The soft kisses quickly grew hungry and desperate, with occasional whimpers coming from George when his iv or tubes would get in the way.

Dream would become more gentle every time he bumped the iv, mumbling and apology and pausing to stroke George's hair for a bit.

Then it would go back to nipping at each other's lips until they were purple and swollen.

"Can I?" Dream whispered, tugging at George's shirt lightly.

Yes folks, consent is sexyyy

George only nodded and watched as Dream slowly pulled his shirt over his head, scowling when it would get stuck. Hospitals made this very, very hard

Dream began trailing kisses along George's collarbone, leaving small bruises on his neck and chest. George eventually huffed and stopped Dream, trying to cover himself with his arms.

"This isn't fair! Take your shirt off." George ordered, smacking Dream's hand away when he tried to touch him again.

Dream stared at George, who sat with an 'I'm serious' look. Dream sighed and gave in, tugging his shirt off and throwing it on the ground.

"Happy?"

George nodded frantically with a smile, pushing Dream down onto the bed, crawling on top of him and-

"I forgot my-"

Sapnap had opened the door and walked in, dropping what he was holding and standing in shock at the two very exposed boys.

"Fuck. Goodbye." He quickly turned and left, leaving George and Dream to laugh at what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s your last chapter of happiness. Next one is the last chapter. I’ll write an epilogue as well, because the ending is kind of abrupt and holy shit I almost cried writing it.
> 
> I don’t cry


	13. Total Eclipse Of The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time I was falling in love  
> But now I’m only falling apart  
> There’s nothing I can do  
> A total eclipse of the heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter. Prepare yourselves.

The next day, George felt like absolute shit.

Sapnap had texted him and said he would leave them alone, still embarrassed from the past day events.

"Can you give me one of those blue bag things?" George mumbled, closing his eyes right as he sat up and held onto his stomach, snatching the bag and puking into it as soon as it was handed to him.

"There's blood," George muttered quietly, sighing and leaning back into the bed.

Just another bad day.

He tied off the bag and put it in the trash by his bed before looking over to Dream with a frown.

"Can you get me a wet cloth? I think- I think I have a fever."

Dream nodded and left to the bathroom, bringing back a cold cloth and putting it on George's forehead.

He sat on the bed next to him with a sad smile,

"Do you wanna call a nurse? I'm sorry you don't feel good,"

"No. No I'm okay." George had a feeling. A very, very bad feeling.

"Call Sapnap." He said, biting his lip.

"Why?" Dream had pulled his phone out and went to his contacts to call his friend.

"I need him here. Please. Tell him to get over what happened, I need him." Dream looked at George with knitted eyebrows, confusion in his eyes.

"Now Dream! Call him!"

"Okay! Okay!" He pressed the call button, talked to Sapnap, and he would be on his way.

This time, Sapnap knocked and paused for a few seconds before coming in.

"What's up? Did something happen?"

"Come sit down, please." George looked sad, upset, he patted the bed.

Now both Dream and Sapnap looked confused, but he complied.

George chewed the inside of his cheek, glancing between Dream and Sapnap.

"I love you sap," he said quietly, to which Sapnap made a face.

"I love you too..? Is that all?"

"Yeah,"

Everyone looked at each other, Dream opening his mouth a few times, but closing it before talking each time.

"You could've just told me on the phone, you know." Sapnap laughed nervously, glancing around.

"No- no I- I couldn't, I have to say it in person. I mean it, I really love you, okay? Don't forget."

"George you're scaring me- is something wrong..? Are you feeling okay?"

"Just feeling a bit weird today, Dream can you tell my mum to come as well? Sap you can leave, if you want. Sorry for making you come all the way here," George did feel a bit guilty, maybe the weird feeling was nothing.

Dream took George's phone and began calling his mom while Sapnap said a very confused bye and left.

Then George's mother was here.

"George? Dream said you were acting weird, whats wrong?"

"What- nothings wrong!" He shot a glare to Dream, who put his hands up and shrugged.

"I just- can you hug me? I love you, I just wanted to say I love you." George held his arms out, smiling to his mother even as she gave him a concerned look.

"I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be here, I just wanted to tell you guys I loved you. Sorry if I'm annoying," George chuckled, only resulting in another aggressive cough.

-

George slept the rest of the day.

Dream was worried. Confused and worried. Why did George randomly call his friend and mom all the way to the hospital just to say that he loved them? Probably just wanted to see them, that's not weird.

But it was still worrisome.

It was getting close to 7 pm, and George had barely eaten anything. So Dream softly kissed George's nose, waking him up.

"Hey Georgie, you need to eat something. Do you wanna maybe go down to the cafeteria? Or I can just bring something?"

"Mmm.. I'm not hungry," George mumbled back, closing his eyes again to go back to sleep.

"George. You _have_ to eat something. You've been sleeping all day."

"I know! I'm tired! I don't feel good Dream!" George groaned and pulled the pillow over his head.

Dream only snatched the pillow away and pulled George up and into his arms, hugging onto him with a slow, shaky exhale.

"I'm worried for you! Please eat, for me. Just something little. Please." Dream pleaded, holding onto the back of George's head and petting his hair.

George slowly nodded and pushed Dream away, shooing him to the door.

"Can you get some ice cream? You have to eat too, though." George didn't want ice cream, he wanted to sleep.

George knew something was happening, he didn't just feel sick that day. He wasn't exactly sure when, but it was coming and he knew it.

Dream nodded and left to get some food, eventually returning with two small cups of chocolate ice cream and a bottle of apple juice.

"You don't have to drink the juice, just try and eat some of this, okay?"

George nodded and opened the ice cream, prodding at it with his spoon before slowly scooping some up and putting it on his tongue.

"Dream I'm not hungry," he whispered, shakily putting the spoon back down into the cup.

"I know. You need to try. Please."

"I _am_ trying!"

George put his hand over his eyes as he began crying for probably the 100th time.

Dream climbed into the bed with George and held him as he cried and choked into his hands, pressing small kisses to his forehead every once in a while.

"I'm proud of you George. I'm so proud of you. You know that? You're doing so good." Dream pulled George even closer, if that was possible.

George didn't say anything, just sniffled to himself and leaned into Dream. Again with that damned humming.

George had fallen asleep, and despite not eating much of the ice cream, Dream was feeling a bit more relaxed and less worried. So he slid out of the bed and sat in the comfy chair in the corner of the room so he could give George more room.

Luckily the chair reclined, so he leaned back and fell asleep as well.

-

George woke up suddenly, in a cold sweat with the inability to breathe correctly.

He looked around, breathing heavily with hazed vision as he began trying to climb out of the bed. It was 2 in the morning, maybe.

He fell out of the bed with a thump, but the tubes had been restricting him from going any further, so he ripped at them all, tearing them with as much strength as he had.

"Dream!" He rasped out, the flat beeping of the heart monitor waking the other up.

Dream shot up, expecting to see George dead in bed because of the beeping, but it was just because it had been disconnected. He looked around in the darkness, quickly rushing over to George who crawled to the window that had the beautiful moonlight shining through.

He scratched at the blinds, gasping and crying that he needed to breathe the outside air.

"Dream! Dream please!" George cried, desperately trying to open the blinds with his shaky and weak hands.

Dream grabbed onto him and held him in his arms, sitting against the wall and cradling him.

"I'm here, George! I'm here, shh," he said quietly, holding tightly onto the shaking boy.

"I'm scared! Dream I'm scared, help me please, help me! I'm-" George was sobbing now, still gasping and reaching out for the window.

"George breathe! I'm here, you're okay! You're okay George. Take deep breaths, you're okay!"

"Please don't let me die Dream I'm- Im scared! Help me, please help me I- I don't want to die, I'm scared I'm- I don't want to go!" George looked at Dream with the most terrified eyes, before taking one last breath and falling limp in his arms.

Dream sat there with George held tight to his body, on the floor while the monitor had continued beeping.

He looked down at George, letting tears slip down his cheeks as he just squeezed the lifeless boy against his chest.

He didn't make a sound, just stared while wet spots darkened the blue shirt George was wearing.

A nurse had finally come in to the sound of the heart monitor beeping, looking down to the two boys on the floor.

She walked over and crouched down next to them with a sympathetic smile.

"Has he passed?" She asked softly, lifting her fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse.

Dream stayed silent, keeping his eyes focused on George. His heart thumped in his ears, he felt lightheaded. He understood what happened.

"Sir, I'm so, very sorry. We're going to need to take him soon."

"No, you can't." Dream said in a hushed whisper, holding onto George a bit tighter.

He stared ahead now, a small smile twitching on his mouth as the realization began kicking in more.

"It's okay, I'll be back in the morning. Again, I'm so sorry."

Dream continued to hold onto George as the nurse had left. And he continued deep into the night. He continued until morning, not closing his eyes, not ripping them away from that one spot on the floor that had held his attention for so long.

"Don't leave me," he would whisper every few minutes, stroking George's hair like he did when his heart was still beating.

He missed the soft song that George would hum. This was the first time- the first time he had held George without him humming.

He hated the constant humming in his ear while he had gone to sleep with George the whole time he's known him- even on calls.

Never a moment without the small innocent sounds.

He used to hate this about George, never understanding why he had sang these soft songs so frequently.

But now as he lay on the floor with George in his arms, he had began humming along to the same song. Because while he lay motionless and cold, Dream had realized just how much he hated the silence of his absence.

It was morning, and the same nurse had come back in to try and take the body that would need to be taken care of.

"It's time, you have to let him go." She would say quietly, sitting on the floor next to Dream.

"I can't." He would say back, his eyes dry and unable to form more tears.

"I know.." she whispers, sighing sadly

"His body has gone cold. He's not here anymore."  
  


This made Dream smile a bit, pulling George even closer.

"But if I keep holding him, I can keep him warm."

"It's okay. It's time to let go."

"5 more minutes?"

"5 more minutes."

She stood and left once again, for another 5 minutes to let Dream hold his lover.

5 more minutes.

Dream can't move, how can he move? His arms are numb from the heavy body restricting the blood flow. But he can't move.

"You're okay, I love you George. You wouldn't leave me." Dream smiled down at George.

He was still in denial, complete shock. Although he knew what had happened, a part of him believed that George was still there. George was still in his body, he was only sleeping. Surely.

It had been 10 minutes instead, and about 5 people had come in to take George.

"It's time, Dream." One of them said with a soft smile.

"You can't," he whispered breathlessly, trying to squeeze George as tight as he could so they couldn't take him. But he was tired, his body was too tired.

"No! No you can't take him!" He shouted tiredly, but sat completely still as they lifted the small body out of his arms.

"You can't" he whispered again, unable to make the effort to move his achy muscles.

-

Sapnap had came into the room later that day to check in. He didn't know George was gone. So when he walked in to see Dream on the floor, with George nowhere in the room, he quickly raced to Dream's side and hugged him tightly.

Dream had an unreadable expression, it was just.. emotionless.

"Oh god. _Oh god_." Sapnap whispered as he let himself slide against the wall.

"What the fuck! He's- he's not, right? He's not? He's okay?" Sapnap continued whispering, whispering prayers that he was just getting checked in a different room, praying that George was okay.

"He's gone." Dream said blankly, reaching a trembling hand up to put on Sapnap's shoulder.

"He's gone."

_George Davidson, October 23rd 2:26 AM_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be an epilogue, it’s really short though. Just a little closure. This was exciting to write even if I may have cried a tiiiiny bit.
> 
> I feel like a lot of the time, stories don’t capture the ending they were meant to have. Too many happy endings. Having an illness can be so extremely hard to battle, sometimes it feels like there’s not much left to do, and it can be so draining on your energy it might feel like there’s nothing you CAN do. 
> 
> So thank you for going on this journey with me, I appreciate all your comments and they keep my motivation up to continue writing! 
> 
> Bye loves


	14. Breathe Again (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of breath, I am left hoping someday  
> I’ll breathe again.

_George,_

_The truth is that I miss you. I miss you so much, I sometimes think of ending things to be with you. Is that stupid? I don't know what the afterlife is like, maybe I wouldn't see you._

_I've been writing letters for a while now. I send them to your old apartment, I thought maybe it would give me some kind of closure._

_Someone is moving in next week. I'm gonna have to stop sending letters, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I miss you so much George._

_I was angry, I was really angry at everyone for a while. Me and Sapnap both were. I cried and screamed and begged for you to come back to me, but it didn't work. Obviously, because you were gone._

_I remember when you died, you looked at me and you were so scared. I cant go to sleep without seeing your horrified expression, it haunts me._

_You haunt me, George._

_After I had begged and pleaded for someone- anyone to bring you back- I fell into a depression. I sat in my house and neglected everything, my job, patches, my family, Sapnap._

_I think about you every day, I don't think I can keep doing this_

_I think I understand now why you wanted to sign the dnr. There's still so much left of the race, but the thought of making it to the finish line just wasn't enough for your weak bones anymore._

_I think I feel that, now. I cant do this, not with your face haunting my dreams every time I close my eyes._

_Everything is so, so wrong and I'm not sure how much longer I can continue telling myself that things will be okay, because they aren't._

_it hurts to be here. God it hurts to be here_

_What am I gonna do_

_What am I gonna do?_

_I just need a deep breath, I feel like I don’t know how to breathe anymore. I’m out of breath, George._

_I know I said you haunt me, but I still look forward to sleeping. Because even though you're scared, I still get to see you._

_And it makes me happy, life is good because I'm with you._

_Until I open my eyes and the reality sinks in. And then my routine is set in motion once again._

_So I only ask, please let me go._

_I know that I'm the one holding on but please,_

_Let me go._

—

Dream puts the pen down and folds the letter unevenly, slipping it into a small black envelope.

He writes in white pen on the envelope, _Goodbye_

He always has Sapnap take all of his letters and send them to George's old apartment. And today was the same. Call Sapnap, plead with a quiet voice rasped from screaming, and he would take the letter and mail it.

This was his last letter.

So as he crawled into his cold, empty bed, he held onto an old sweater of George's and let his eyes close once again.

Tomorrow's a new day.

Or, perhaps not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last bit of writing for this story!
> 
> You can interpret the ending how you wish, whether Dream decided to be with him or not is for your deciding LOL


End file.
